To Protect My Chii
by TheTechAngel
Summary: A Complete story about a terrible heat wave that has struck most of Japan and Chii is suffering from the heat. Hideki plans to escape Tokyo to save Chii but will that work? Who awaits for Hideki and Chii in the area? Read this story for a unique adventu
1. Chapter 1: Just Can’t Take the Heat

+ To Protect My Chii +

By: TheTechAngel

2-14-06

(This is my first attempt at making a fan fictional story. I thought I'd start with one of my favorites…Chobits! I usually make original stories based on MY characters and such but this will definitely be something new to me. I'll be posting most of my text works maybe one chapter a week...MAYBE! I'll definitely try my best. If I'm really into the work then I will do more of that story. I'll be doing this chapter on the fly (making this up as I go along) so as I dig further into this story, I'll get a very good idea how it should end and such.

Well here I go, go easy on me for this is my first.

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Character Bios/Info:

**Hideki Motosuwa**

Age: 20

Species: Human

Occupation: College Student

General Info: The main character in this story. Hideki is currently in college thanks to a grant he received that allowed him to begin his studies in robotics. Last year, Hideki had found a persocom lying in an alley so he took it home and he gets his very first Persocom. She had no name…or let alone an OS but he didn't know that. Hideki named this persocom Chii and ever since then, Hideki and Chii were bound for adventures as he taught Chii many things about the world that Chii would need to learn.

**Chii**

Age: Unknown

Species: Persocom/Chobit

Occupation: None, learns from Hideki

General Info: Chii was mysteriously dumped out by an original owner one night and Hideki had found her lying there wrapped in bandages. Chii came with an OS that gave her everything that she needed to function however; Hideki was able to turn her on anyway despite the need of a functioning OS. Since Chii is learning purely from scratch, all she began to say was Chii so Hideki decided to name her just that. Today, she still remains with Hideki and she quickly discovers more about him and unearths a love that is thought to be rare and that only a few persocoms could obtain. Chii deep inside loves Hideki for all that he's done for her.

**Hiromu Shinbo**

Age: Unknown

Species: Human

Occupation: College Student

General Info: A neighbor of Hideki's who also goes to the same college with him as well. Shinbo has his own persocom as well named Sumomo who is a smaller and more mobile persocom unit. He first showed Hideki around when he first moved to Tokyo and today they are best friends if anything.

**Chitose Hibiya**

Age: Unknown

Species: Human

Occupation: Manager

General Info: Chitose is the manager of the apartments that Hideki currently resides in. She is usually seen doing work around the apartment making it tidy and clean. Chitose does keep an eye on Hideki while he is home to make sure that he is doing all right.

**Minoru Kokubunji**

Age: Young…no known exact age

Species: Human

Occupation: Persocom expert

General Info: A young boy who has a lot of knowledge about persocoms despite his young age. He is from a wealthy family who builds his own custom persocoms. His own personal persocom Yuzuki is his creation who resembles very much like his sister. He and Hideki have a good relationship as friends and Minoru offers advice whenever Hideki needs any tips in persocom handling.

**Takako Shimizu**

Age: Unknown

Species: Human

Occupation: Teacher

General Info: A young woman who used to teach at Hideki's prep school but transferred to the college that Hideki attends and just happens to be his teacher.

**Hiroyuki Yokugawa **(Original character)

Age: 22

Species: Human

Occupation: College Student

General Info: A long time friend of Hideki since high school years ago. He lives in Osaka with his parents and sister. Although he doesn't have a persocom of his own, he has read a lot about them and saves to get a mobile persocom for himself.

**Man in Black **(This entry will appear when the story is fully complete…till then…read to find out the name!)

Age??

Species??

Occupation??

General Info??

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◊◊ **Chapter 1 – Just Can't Take the Heat ◊◊**

Today is one of those days where you don't want to do anything but sit around the house and do nothing. It's far too hot outside to do anything serious without burning up to a crisp onto the pavement below. All the stores around here are sold out of ice and all the water is warm. Never mind frying an egg on the sidewalk, it's so hot out that I think Hell decided to take a vacation above ground and brought the temps along with it. It's actually getting more hot in my room going on and on about the weather in my mind. The last thing I want to do is overheat my brain which isn't that hard to do.

Speaking of terrible heat, Chii isn't doing too well either. Poor thing, she's sitting next to me in my room with all three fans blowing on her too. It's so hot that the fans are blowing warm air instead. "Chii…" she said tiredly, I couldn't think of any way to possibly cool her. I know that because she's a persocom, she must overheat rather easy than humans. I placed my arm around Chii's shoulder and drew her in close to me. Poor thing, her skin was very warm though she wasn't sweating. Persocoms don't sweat obviously, but all that overheating inside her has gone to the surface of her skin so I knew that internally she must be cooking. "Chii…the heat is bad. Chii is burning up. Need cooling or power will shut down…" Chii spoke as she looked at me.

This was bad…I've never heard her say that before. Needs cooling? That definitely indicates that she is in need of cold air or else she will shut down. I hope that her memory stays intact if this were to happen. I have to do something. I must do something right now! "Chii I will help you! Come on let's go". Chii looked at me questionably as I grabbed her hand to help her stand up. I guess then I realized how drained she was. She stood up but her knees were bent and her posture told it all. "Hideki…Chii can barely stand. Chii needs Hideki's help…or Chii will shut down" Chii said while looking at my eyes. She is so pretty looking at me like that but yet she is dying and I don't know where to start.

Knock knock. I heard someone knocking on the door. "Ah come in" I spoke loudly. The door opened and it was none other than our Landlady, Ms. Chitose Hibiya. She was wearing a white tank top, that had her navel show a little bit, and short blue shorts. Must be just as hot in her unit as well for her to dress like this but of course, I wouldn't really expect her to wear her usual clothing in this heat. "Hideki, I just came to check to see how you are faring in this terrible heat." Hibiya said to me. "I'm all right, but Chii here…" I said while looking at Chii who was looking worse by the minute. "Ms. Hibiya…please you must know of a cool place of where I can take Chii. She said that she will shut down if her systems aren't cooled. I need to do this fast, she's burning up!" I requested strongly to Ms. Hibiya. I was in a panic and I know I wasn't thinking clearly. "I happen to have an area in my unit that you could take Chii to cool down. I was about to step out for a bit anyway so you can use it if you like" said Ms. Hibiya. "Yes of course I would, take us to it!" I requested strongly.

After a few minutes, Ms. Hibiya took Chii and I to her apartment unit and she showed us where Chii can be placed to cool down. The area she was talking about was the shower and she said to me because most Persocoms are generally waterproof, Chii included, and that Chii would cool much faster in a running cold shower. "Please make yourself comfortable while I go out and find a store that might have some cool water or some ice left. Bye Hideki…and you too Chii" Ms. Hibiya said to us. Chii didn't respond back and I noticed she wasn't moving very much. I also noticed she wasn't even looking at anyone. She was looking at the ground with her eyes halfway closed in a daze. "Don't worry Chii let's go!" I said in a panic.

I took Chii to the bathroom and closed the door behind me and opened the shower curtain to turn on the water. As soon as the water was running, I placed Chii inside the shower and tried to help her stand. Chii began standing on her own as the water began to cool the surface of her skin. Her eyes opened up more and she tilted her head up towards the shower head in relaxation. I watched as Chii began to come around and get cool by the cold water. I smiled and was relieved to see her feeling better.

Chii closed her eyes while facing the shower head and she began to rub her face with her hands. I was watching as she began to clean herself like she learned how to a long while ago. I blushed a bit as I noticed that Chii's clothes were still on as she was wiping the water all over her. "Chii. Do you…want me to help you wash yourself?" I asked her. I didn't know what she would say; she looked so beautiful and relieved from the water that I wanted to share the experience with her. "Chii!" She said happily to me. I looked at the door again to make sure it was closed and after that, I took my shirt off and I slowly undid the button of my pants. I don't think I can recall a time that Chii and I were naked together. I noticed that Chii was watching me all this time and as she did she began to copy what I was doing. Now I began watching her as she took off her dress and it onto to the toilet seat top. Chii was in her white panties only and I began to admire her body more. I took off my pants and I stayed in my boxers then I went in the shower stall with Chii.

I closed the shower curtain to cover the both of us from the rest of the bathroom and after that I turned my focus towards Chii. Her back was towards me and I was looking at her long golden hair. I took the bar of soap nearby on the soap holder and rubbed my hands together to lather up. I rested my hands on her shoulders and began to rub her tender feminine shoulders down to her slender arms. The sensation was wonderful gliding my hands on her smooth-as-silk skin. I inadvertently drew her in closer to me while I was cleaning her shoulders and arms. Her long hair and slender back pressed up against my chest and I slowly buried my face into her hair. I lifted her arms up so I can begin cleaning the sides of her body. While I was doing this, I looked down at her petite breasts further admiring her curves. I was trying not to get carried away here but I then glided my hands to her taut belly. I looked at Chii, her eyes were closed and she was still facing the shower head with a satisfying smile it appeared like. She was absolutely gorgeous. "Chii. I just want you to know that I think you are very beautiful. You make me so happy and I enjoy being with you. Most importantly, I am very glad you are feeling better. I don't know what I would do if you were to shut down." I whispered very softly to her ear. Chii opened her eyes with curiosity and then she slowly turned around to look at me. I wasn't sure if she understood what I had just said but looking at her dark earthy brown eyes, I had a feeling she understood me because she smiled softly at me. I smiled back and placed my hand on her delicate face while I gazed back at her eyes, almost seeing my reflection back. "Hideki" Chii said softly while locking her eyes with mine so I only look at her. "Chii understands what Hideki just said. Chii loves Hideki very much. Chii wants to be with Hideki forever. Chii knows that Hideki is a wonderful person. Hideki…protects Chii from danger." Chii responded back to me with that same soft voice of hers.

I smiled more at her and I wrapped my arms out around her slender waist and gently pulled her in close to me. I'm glad she was ok. I'm glad she was safe. I'm also glad I have someone that I can take care of to my full efforts. Just as she said, I protect Chii and that is what I will continue to do…forever. Chii was ok; I saved her once again…

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2: Heat is of no concern…

◊◊ **Chapter 2 – Heat is of no concern… ◊◊**

_Thirty minutes have elapsed since Hideki and Chii's session in the shower so now Hideki finishes washing Chii off of the remaining soap. Soon after Hideki finishes, Ms. Hibiya returns from her trip to find some cool water and ice. The story continues…_

"Ok Chii, feels like you're back to normal temperature let's get out of the shower" I said to Chii. While we were stepping out of the shower stall, I heard the front door open. It must have been Ms. Hibiya with the water and ice…if she found any. Maybe not. Either way, I still had to dry off first before I can go greet Ms. Hibiya. I took a towel nearby and dried Chii off and she began copying my action and started to dry me off with a towel as well. It took me a while to dry off her long blonde hair but I eventually managed to dry off most of it. "Chii's hair is wet?" she spoke softly to me. "Ah yes it is. I got most of it off, the rest will dry off on its own Chii" I answered back. After that, Chii put back on her dress that she wore earlier and I put back on my t-shirt and jeans on. We might have to head back home and grab a new change of clothes before we travel back out again.

"Hey are you guys still here? I'm back" Ms. Hibiya called out to us. I heard her voice and we were done changing so I opened the bathroom door and let Chii leave out first and I followed behind. "We are still here Ms. Hibiya" I responded back. "Oh good! So did it work with Chii?" Ms. Hibiya asked. "Why yes it did. She's back to normal now. Thank you very much Ms. Hibiya!" I replied with much gratitude. No doubt about it, she was back to normal…for now. Now that I'm thinking about it, I did hear talk about another heat wave we are supposed to have for tomorrow. Boy a trip to somewhere cooler would be just the ticket right about now. "Well I'm glad; Chii does seem to be much better." Ms. Hibiya said. Chii did appear very happy and she had on her innocent smile. "I brought some cold water and ice from one store that just happen to have the last supply. So I rushed back home before it melted on the way here." Ms. Hibiya said. "Wonderful. If it's not too much to ask…may I have some of that ice for tomorrow? There is talk about another heat wave much like today." I requested to Ms. Hibiya. "Of course you can. Go get some empty bags from your place and I'll fill them right away." She said. So I took Chii with me and I proceeded to get some bags to stock up for tomorrow.

**Next day arrives. Date August 20, 2010**

Ugh, yesterday was terrible. I've never heard of Japan with temperatures soaring so high. I don't know but it must have been in 105°F. I hope today won't be like this again…I hope that rumor about another heat wave was false. "Now for today's weather, most of the middle region of Japan will be caught in another blistering heat wave of temperatures rising high in the upper 110's. All residents of Tokyo, Miura, Yaizu, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe are strongly urged to stay indoors and not venture outdoors unless absolutely necessary. Further details of this record breaking heat wave more at noon."

…what! I stood up quickly to find out where that voice came from. On my left I saw Chii sitting in front of the TV watching the news and just now was a reporter relaying information about today's disaster. Now that confirms that the rumor was now true. I have to do something…again to protect Chii. Now it's even hotter than yesterday. Chii may not last too long here at this rate. Come to think of it, I wonder about all the other persocoms in the area. Especially the smaller ones, what will become of them? I'm sure there has been many reports of persocoms failing in the area I'd imagine.

I turned towards Chii who was still staring at the TV set. She must have not heard me get up in a frenzy. "Hey…Chii? Are you…ok?" I asked her cautiously. I was worried that she might have shut down and I didn't know it until now. "Chii is hot. Chii…needs Hideki's help." She replied back to me in a dying voice. As I saw her eyes, I felt a terrible shiver down my spine. Her eyes had a faded color in them. They weren't as deep brown as they used to be. This has to be a sign that Chii is dying.

I looked at my alarm clock and it was 9:30AM. I didn't have school today and I assumed school wouldn't be in session either so I didn't give it another thought. I had something more important to worry about. I have to get Chii out of here. I stood up to go outside on the balcony to see what was happening around town. It was a sad sight for there were people on the ground suffering from heat stroke. I saw a cat on my right near the next corner just lying on the ground probably suffering the same thing. I went to the kitchen and looked in the ice box to see if the ice from yesterday was still intact. I opened the door and all I saw was a big plastic bag that was once a bag full of ice is now a bag full of warm water. It seems as though my icebox died out on me too.

"Damn it!" I muttered to myself angrily. I'm out of anything cold and I know MY shower isn't running any cold water and I can't keep bothering Ms. Hibiya just to use hers either. I was stuck and I needed a plan. No, I needed a solution because now I'm starting to feel faint myself. "Hideki…Hideki…a motor stopped in Chii…" Chii said in a very feint voice. As she said this, her eyelids drooped more and she slowly started to lie on the floor. I couldn't take this anymore. What i'm seeing before my very eyes was the unthinkable and I…couldn't do anything about it now. "CHII! PLEASE WAKE UP! OH CHII PLEASE…DON'T GIVE UP NOW!" I yelled towards Chii in strong hopes that would help her wake up. She wasn't moving…and now…I wasn't moving. Because…I was scared and fearful for what had just happened. I had to rush over to see Ms. Hibiya right away! Without thinking for another second, I left Chii on the floor and I ran towards the door and out to Ms. Hibiya's unit. MS. HIBIYA! ITS HIDEKI…PLEASE OPEN UP! THIS IS URGENT!" I yelled in concern. I couldn't keep my voice down and I'm sure other close by units can hear me as well. But I didn't care, I just needed to help Chii in any way that I can. Before I was going to knock on the door loudly again, I looked down and I saw a note. I picked up the note and on it said the following:

_Dear Hideki, this is Ms. Hibiya. I guess you were right about the next heat wave. I left early this morning to go out for more water and ice. You may not be aware of it but the news has reported over 6,000 persocoms with extreme hardware failure and is in need of intensive repairs. In the event that Chii stops moving and is unable to function properly, I want you to take this note and on the back is a set of instructions that will allow Chii to run on an internal battery for up to 4 hours._

_I must warn you though; this battery is only for an emergency and once you activate the battery, the battery must be recharged again ALONG with Chii in order for it to work again. Since there are major power failures in most of the area, I doubt you will have a working power source to charge Chii and the battery. Use this information wisely and if all else fails, maybe you should leave the area until things have calmed back to normal._

_I don't know what else to say Hideki…please don't worry about me. Just take care of Chii to the best of your abilities. I'll be ok._

_-Ms. Chitose Hibiya_

I didn't know what to say. My mind was completely stunned by the note and by what is happening to Tokyo lately. I took a peek at the back of the note and there were detailed instructions of how to initiate the Backup Battery in Chii. I folded the note and placed it in my pocket and I turned around to look outside on the balcony once again. The sky was still dawn and the clouds were dark black and it covered the sun providing temporarily relief. Whatever was going on…sitting around here trying to make sense of things was beyond logic. I couldn't place anything to as what's happening right now. Without giving it another thought, I ran back to my unit and saw Chii still lying on the floor. I walked over to her and held her up so I can try to gaze in her eyes hoping she could see me. "C…Chii?" she spoke. I was surprised for a second that she had come to. "Chii! You ok!" I asked her with concern. "Ch…Chii is ok. Hideki…is sad?" She spoke with a soft smile trying to recover her pain. "Chii…please stay alive for me!" I cried out while hugging her tightly.

I embraced Chii for a long time and I didn't let go. I didn't want to let go, I did want us to get out of here before things got much worse. I rested Chii down near the bed and ran to the kitchen and took the bag of water from the icebox and came back to rest the bottom of the bag on Chii's forehead. "This should help you Chii. Please use this for the meantime." I requested to Chii. I needed time to think about what I was going to do. While I was trying to think of a place I can take Chii that was much cooler, I all of the sudden heard the news say:

_We interrupt this current broadcast to release breaking news. It seems two major disasters are sweeping through Japan. A now updated toll of over 7,000 persocoms in most of the northern Japan area has been reported extreme failure. The second major news is widespread brushfires have been reported throughout Osaka…_

I turned the TV off while she was still broadcasting. I didn't want to hear anymore. I now had evidence that I must do something. "Chii listen to me" I said while turning towards her. I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently held her cheeks up so I can get a clear view at her eyes. "Chii…you and I…are getting out of here. We are going to leave this area because I don't want you to suffer another hardware failure. I'm also doing it for my sake as well." I explained to Chii. "Chii understands…but what about Sumomo and Shinbo? Are they coming too?" Chii asked. "Chii to be honest, I haven't heard from them since yesterday's heat wave. Wherever they are, I'm sure that they are all right. It's going to be just you and me Chii." I said to her. I really don't know where the others are and I haven't received any calls from Shinbo either. All I know is, we have to get out of here and soon…

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3: Off on our journey

◊◊ **Chapter 3 – Off on our journey ◊◊**

_We last left off with Hideki making a decision of where to go to seek shelter from the blistering heat that most of Japan is suffering through. Chii, who almost was a goner, came back to life miraculously before Hideki's eyes. He couldn't be any happier. That is until he finds somewhere cooler to rest in. The story continues..._

"Ready Chii?" I called out to her. "Chii is ready for adventure!" she said cheerfully. "Well don't think of it as some sort of happy camping trip up the woods. This is merely a trip for survival." I replied back. "Chii?" she said inquisitively. "Don't worry about it" I said while wrapping my arm Chii's shoulder. I'm just happy right now that she is ok. She seems cheerful enough; I just hope we don't have to walk too far otherwise that will really tire her out. Come to think of it…I really don't know where to begin. "Chii? This is our starting point ok. Front of the entrance to the apartments. Is your navigational system still working?" I asked Chii. "Chii!" she answered. "Well that's good then. I have a feeling we might need it later. Remember, though the heat is still strong, we must remain positive!" I said with confidence. "Hideki…fight!" Chii said with a cheer and an arm in the air. I really do love Chii's eagerness in these situations. That too will come in handy. OK got my backpack of traveling items, bottles of water, map, and of course Chii.

Chii and I began walking towards the path of my school since it led to several major roads. It is now around 10AM and I'm not in any particular rush to get to somewhere. Wherever we end up going will take a while since most of Japan is like this. I must admit though that for early in the morning, it sure is unusually hot. Normally it becomes hot around 2PM or sometime late in the afternoon. I think it might be global warming and Ms. Hibiya suspects something else. I don't care what the reason is, I just want it cool again dang it!

"Hideki? Where are we going?" Chii asked. "I'm not sure right now Chii. Maybe we will take the train to Osaka. I know a few friends that live there. I guess that will be a good place to start." I replied. While I was thinking of taking the train there, I was also wondering how many people might have that same idea. The trains are usually always crowded anyway, but today might be even more so because of the weather. Well I'm sure we can get in since we are leaving earlier.

**Half an hour passes by and it's now 10:30AM**

Chii and I arrive at the train station and I located which train is headed south for Osaka and we board the train. It certainly was crowded as I had predicted but it wasn't that bad. Actually it looked like the everyday crowd really. Chii and I managed to find a spacious seating away from most of the crowd. I plop down on the seat and take a big sigh and reach in my bag for a bottle of water. "Hideki. Will we return home?" Chii asked me. "Chii I really don't know. I'm not thinking about home right now. I'm just concerned about the heat and how bad it is getting. I also don't want you to suffer anymore in this weather, so I'm hoping that Osaka isn't that much more terrible than here in Tokyo." Chii did look a little concerned…as if she had a feeling we weren't ever going to return home. She was looking out the window as the train was in motion passing all the buildings and landscapes before us. After hearing Chii ask me that…I kind of wondered myself if we will return home. Oh of course we are, I mustn't think the world is going to end or something. But will this heat linger for a while? I don't know the answer to that but I hope it ends soon. "Chii, I'm going to take a nap for a while. It's going to be a while before this train hits Osaka. Wake me up in about an hour ok?" I asked of Chii. "Chii!" She responded with a smile. Off I dozed…

I laid across the seat facing away from Chii and I didn't fall asleep right away but I had my eyes closed. I thought about Ms. Hibiya and where she went off to and why did she leave me that note. I pat my right pocket to make sure that I still had that note and I did. I wonder if she came back yet and if she did…I wonder where she thinks we are at the moment. Come to think of it, I didn't leave any note for her mentioning where Chii and I were going. Now I felt bad…I'm going to worry her a lot whenever we get back. I also thought about Shinbo and Sumomo…I'm surprised they haven't called me at all. In fact, maybe I should call him right now. I don't have Ms. Hibiya's number, but I do have Shinbo's…

I grabbed my cell phone from the clip on my belt and called up Shinbo and heard the phone ringing. I hope he answers…I can't even remember when the last time I heard or spoke to him was. I do hope he's ok and I do hope…

"_Hello?"_

"Hello Shinbo? This is Hideki!"

"_Hey what a surprise, I'm glad to hear from you. It's been ages since we spoke on the phone"_

I sat up when I heard his voice and smiled in relief to hear from him

"Yea I know what you mean. How are you doing? How's Sumomo doing?"

"_Ahh she's not doing so well. As you are probably aware that this heat wave is causing many Persocoms to malfunction. Well Sumomo was one of them. I'm actually on my way to a repair shop now to get her back."_

"Ahh I see, sorry to hear that."

"_It's ok; it's not your fault. How about Chii? Is she holding up well?"_

"Well at first she wasn't too good either. Actually she had fainted this morning, but then minutes later she came back to life."

"_Wow that's lucky! Well good for you man."_

"Thanks. Well Chii and I are on a train heading for Osaka."

"_Oh really? Leaving the area too eh? I'm thinking about doing that myself after I get Sumomo back."_

"That would be great if you came along"

"_Yea but since you're already on your way, it will probably take me a while to catch up. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It's Sumomo I'm worried about."_

"Ok well glad to hear that you are ok, I'll talk to you later. See ya!"

"_Later"_

hang up phone

Well that made me feel better knowing that he is all right. So Sumomo malfunctioned too eh? I hope her memory is still intact, Shinbo didn't mention that. That's one thing less for me to worry about so there's nothing more for me to do then to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride to Osaka. I glanced at Chii who had her body turned towards the window to see everything passing in front of her eyes. She had this smile on and I couldn't help but put on a smile as well. While I was looking at Chii, she noticed that I was looking at her and turned her head towards me. "Chii?" she said. Those eyes and that innocence on her face…she was just beautiful. I took my hands and rested them on her shoulders and I said to her "Chii…you are going to be ok and I will protect you." She smiled more at me and moved herself close to me and leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and smelt the fragrance of her hair and I gave her a soft hug. I embraced her like this for about a minute or so and then I took my hand and delicately held her chin so she was looking at me and I gave her a soft kiss on the lips. The kiss lasted for about a few seconds as I didn't want to go to heavy on her. After I kissed her, I just stared deep into her eyes of the earth.

"Hideki?" she spoke in the softest whisper that only I can hear. "Hideki…makes Chii really happy. Chii is very happy to be with someone that cares about Chii" she said to me with her eyes deep in a gaze. Her eyelids were heavy and she seemed to be staring at the lights of heaven when she said that. I had to respond "Chii. You make me very happy as well. I don't know what I would do if you should ever stop moving. I don't think I'd ever stop crying for you. You mean far too much to me." After saying that to Chii, I took both of my hands and held her cheeks gently. I tickled her cheeks some with my thumbs and caressed her hair a little bit. Chii still kept that "in love" look with me which was perfect because I was giving her that same look back. Again I hugged her but this time I held her tightly and pulled her in close to me slowly.

It was almost 11AM and we still had a long while till this train hits Osaka. While I was thinking about it…I didn't care. I could take days to reach there for all I cared. I just wanted to be with Chii and see her in perfect health. Chii…keep smiling and I will keep smiling back…

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Chapter 4: Next Stop…Osaka!

◊◊ **Chapter 4 – Next Stop…Osaka! ◊◊**

_In the previous Chapter, Hideki and Chii were on their way to Osaka by train. After hearing from Shinbo and his situation with Sumomo, Hideki is glad that he is ok overall. As Hideki and Chii near Osaka, Hideki begins to wonder...is Osaka cooler than Tokyo? The story continues man!_

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_Many hours have indeed passed since Hideki and Chii boarded the train to Osaka. After comforting Chii of her safety and after a tight embrace with each other, Hideki feel asleep since he did wake up quite early this morning. Chii, not one to be bored so easily, just kept her attention outside while the train was moving. Now and then she'd look at Hideki and smiled to see him sleep peacefully. Minutes later the train slowly grinds to a halt…_

"_We have reached Osaka, all passengers please watch your step_!" the announcer said on the loudspeaker. Chii looked around with a curious look on her face as people got up from their seats on toward the nearest exit. She then looked outside and noticed that the train had stopped moving. She blinked and suddenly recalled that Hideki said to wake him up as soon as the train stopped at Osaka. Chii turned to Hideki who was still sleeping sideways on the seat all curled up and says "Chii? Osaka! Osaka! We are here Hideki." "Huh what happened? I'm here…" I said with confusion. I got my bearings quickly and looked around and saw people leaving the train. "Come on Chii let's go!" I said as I quickly got up and grabbed my bag and held Chii's hand to exit the train.

As we stepped out of the train and into the daylight, I stood still and took in a deep breath. "Hey…it's…cooler here!" I said with much enthusiasm. I was overjoyed and as I shouted how cool it was I looked at Chii and said "Chii! It's cooler here as I hoped!" Chii smiled wide at me and squealed "Chii! Hideki is very happy!" I hugged Chii tightly once again and I lifted her up in the air and spun her around out of excitement. Chii's hair flung across the wind as I spun her and when I stopped, her hair landed around my shoulders. I set her down and gave her a kiss on the forehead and adjusted her hair so it was behind her back. I held her hand and we headed for the nearest stairway.

"Wow, it must be like 30 degrees cooler than it was in Tokyo. This is great; I've never felt so happy to be away from strong heat before." I said to Chii. "Chii feels that the surrounding temperature is 35 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than our starting point at the front of the apartments" Chii relayed to me. I guess her systems are able to tell the exact temperature. "That's wonderful…now I just need to call my friend and find out where he lives so that maybe he can let us stay here for a few days." I said to Chii as I was looking through my cell phone's list of phone numbers. I knew 3 people here but I haven't spoke to them in months. So hopefully they still recognize me. Chii and I are outside the train and we are located inside the station's building. We were standing a few feet away from the doors that led out to the train which was about to board back to Tokyo I presume. Chii was looking all around at the people who were passing by her, passing away from her, talking with others, and heading out the exit. She had this look of amazement in her eyes while she was watching others. Never has she been to Osaka and never has she seen so many people in one area at once. The train station building was pretty huge so there must have been at least 500 people here waiting for their train to come or to just sit around and chat.

I finally found the person I was looking for in my Cell phone and said to Chii "Ok I have his number after all". I dialed his number and heard the line ring. While I was waiting patiently for a pickup signal, Chii was staring at me with her usual curious expression. At last he picks up…

"_Hello?"_

"Hey it's Hideki, how ya doing Hiroyuki?"

"_Wow Hideki? You actually called me? This is a rare surprise indeed. What can I do for you?"_

"Well Chii and I are in Osaka to get away from the heat wave in Tokyo. I was wondering if you would mind if we stayed at your place for a little while until it got cooler there."

"_Hmm that's a pretty big request coming from someone I barely talk to anymore. I don't know it's kind of sudden."_

"I don't want to force you if it's not possible. It would really help us out a lot though."

"_Hmm well I'm not at home right now so you can't go at the moment. How about I call you back later and I'll let you know ok?_

"Ok that sounds good. Don't forget to call back."

"_I won't, take care Hideki."_

(Hung up phone)

"Well Chii…he said he'll call me back later. What do you want to do now? We have lots of time to kill since its noon." Growl "Hideki made funny noise here." Chii said as she pointed towards my stomach. "Ah yes, food would be a very good idea right about now." I answered. I put away my cell phone and as I was doing this, I looked around to see where the exit was and there I saw a man dressed in all black looking directly my way. I stopped my movements and continued to look back at him. I couldn't make out his face since he was so far away. While I was looking at him, Chii also looked in the same direction I was looking at. The black clothed figure then turned around and walked away. "Wow…who was he huh? I know its cooler here than in Tokyo…but I wouldn't wear all black like that." I said jokingly. "Chii does not who that person is" She said to me. "That's ok Chii, don't even worry about it. Come on let's go walk around some." I said to her with a smile. Chii and I walked outside the train station and into an area which led to the intersection just outside the station. Osaka was indeed cooler than Tokyo and seemed a bit busier in the streets than normal.

_Hideki thought to himself that many people here must have arrived from Tokyo as well. Chii was looking all around her and admiring the sights she had been here before. There were tall buildings that reached the heavens, complex designs that would confuse any smart persocom. Hideki noticed Chii looking around the cityscape and as he was enjoying her happiness and curiosity, he took her hand and held it gently. Chii looked at Hideki once she felt him holding her hand and gave a soft smile and cooed "Chii". Hideki distracted himself towards Chii and thought about her health and if her systems were functioning properly or not._

"Chii? How are you feeling? Are your systems ok?" Hideki asked with small concern. "Chii's systems are functioning. Is Hideki ok?" Chii responded back. "Yes I'm ok; I'm doing much better now. "Chii is happy!" She answered. I slowly went behind Chii and I wrapped my arms around her slender waist and dug my face into her hair. I knew that displaying affection in public in Japan is frowned upon, but I could care less. No human could possibly understand the affinity I have towards Chii. Yes I know that she is a persocom, but she is indeed much more than that. Chii cooed again and her eyes went heavy and she smiled while I hugged her a little tighter. "Chii?" she said inquisitively. Chii pushed her rear a little below my pants and the motion made me blush and inadvertently jerk back a little. She turned around and looked at my lower pants. "Hideki is full of energy here again!" she said with a smile while pointing towards my…uh…uncontrollable happiness. "Chii…it's embarrassing to point" I said with a look of embarrassment while scratching the back of my head making sure others weren't looking. "Chii?" She said with a coo.

Some hours have passed and we pretty much looked around most of the downtown area in Osaka. I noticed that there seemed to be more persocoms in this area than in Tokyo. Mostly because these persocoms weren't suffering from heat stress and breakdowns. Now that I'm thinking about this in my mind, I wonder how the persocoms in Tokyo are doing. I wonder how many have been repaired so far. Maybe the heat got worse and more broke down so repairs never happened? I stopped thinking about the what-ifs and instead thought about Shinbo and Sumomo. I was about to reach in my bag to get my cell phone to call Shinbo to see if Sumomo was finally repaired when all of the sudden the phone rang at the same time I held the phone. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Hiroyuki and once I saw this, I answered.

(Turns cell phone on)

Hey Hiroyuki!

_Hey Hideki, how are you and Chii holding up?_

Ah well we spent most of the day looking around the downtown area of Osaka. I forgot how big it is down there, time flew easy.

_Yes the downtown area will make you lose time as though it never existed. Anyway, I'm returning your call about your request to stay over here for the night. My answer is sure it's ok. My parents have gone out and will not come back till tomorrow night anyway so I have the house to myself._

We can stay for tonight? That's wonderful news! Thanks a lot man I owe you one!

_It's no big deal. I do want you to tell me about your life in Tokyo however so this is the perfect opportunity for us to catch up on current lives._

Sure no problem, when can we come over?

_You guys can come over now. I'm making dinner so by the time you two arrive here it should be done._

Cool! Um…can you give me directions to your place again? Naturally I wouldn't remember where you live.

_Its ok, come around the intersection after the train station and head south for about a mile and you'll come across…_

Wait wait! I don't have a pen and paper handy so I can remember all of this. Here I'll put Chii on the line.

(I tapped Chii's shoulder and gave her my cell phone and told her to remember what Hiroyuki's directions were)

_Chii? Are you ready to record the directions?_

Chii!

_Go around the intersection after the train station and head south for about a mile and you'll come across two traffic lights followed by a bridge. After the bridge on your southeast, you will see an area called Feather Heights and I live on 4B. Do you understand Chii?_

Chii has remembered Mr. Hiroyuki's directions!

_Ha-ha, you don't have to call me mister. I'm not much of a formal person. Well tell your owner, Hideki, that I will see him here when he gets here. Ok Chii?_

Chii understands.

_Wonderful, see you two soon!_

(Hiroyuki hangs up cell)

Chii hands back my cell phone and looks at me and says "Chii has Mr. Hiroyuki's directions. Are we going to see Mr. Hiroyuki?" "Yes we are Chii; we are going to spend the night there so we can rest from travel." I responded. Chii smiled and nodded her head with enthusiasm and began leading the way to his house. I followed Chii from behind as she took her time with the directions. I was relieved that he allowed us to spend the night after all this. It's been so long since I've seen Hiroyuki…I think I forgot what he looks like. Hmm he does have black hair…unless he decided to dye his hair. I highly doubt he was the kind of person to do wild things like that and I don't think any other color than black would look good on him. Nope, can't picture him like them J-rock stars…eek. I shook my head at the idea and thought about something else. Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking and they aren't anything in particular, just random contemplating. For one, I started to think about that man that we saw at the train station…the one in all black. Why did he stare at us for so long and why didn't he say anything. Strangely the more I thought about it, the more I started to develop a worry about Chii. I quickly thought about something else and as I did I bumped into Chii accidentally and Chii began to fall forward a little. The spilt second of watching her almost fall, I suddenly realize that we were at a crosswalk waiting for the crosswalk to change signals and a car was heading for Chii. I instantly pulled her back from the car and fell backwards in the process and Chii landed on me. My eyes were widened in fear and I was angry with myself to allow myself to drift off like that! Chii quickly turned towards me and hugged me very tight and yelled "Chii". We were still lying on the ground but she was on top of me hugging the life out of me out of terror. I had suddenly realized how much Chii has learned and experienced in the time that I had her. Chii now knows what it's like to be afraid and scared. I couldn't believe it and I held Chii and said to her "I'm sorry Chii, are you all right?" Chii produced a worried look on her face. Her eyes a little heavy as though she were about to cry. Her eyebrows tilted on angles and her cheeks looked tight. I had felt a tingle in my stomach…that kind you get when you get scared yourself. I stood up and as I did I held Chii's hands and pulled her up. I brushed the dust off of her and straightened out her hair and bangs. "Chii…I'm really very sorry. I will be more careful with myself" I said with shame. Chii gave me a soft smile and leaned over and gave me a peck on the cheek gently and said "Chii!"

About 30 minutes after that careless incident, we finally arrived at Feather Heights. Chii looked around for apartment 4B and so did I. This town area was huge and all the buildings had their lights on to full and the area seemed to glitter with post lights and windows. Man his parents must have some money to afford luxury apartments like these. Chii and I kept looking around at the apartments and suddenly Chii pointed toward an apartment and said "4B!" There it was, Chii had found it. We walked up the stairs of this apartment to 4B with Chii leading the way again. For some reason, I was beat…I couldn't wait to fall right asleep when I got there. While I was thinking about sleep, I all the sudden caught a whiff of something delicious in the air. I raised my head up to trace the smell and it smelled divine! I then remember overhearing Hiroyuki say that he was going to make dinner by the time we get there. Could it be that it's ready! With the energy left in me that was dying for a feast, I ran up the stairs past Chii and got to the door and began knocking on the door hard. Chii slowly pacing herself to catch up with me then looked at me and said "Chii" with exhaustion.

"_I'm coming! Keep your shirt on will ya! (Opens front door) Huh, you must've really wanted to see me knocking so loud like that. Come on in you two!" Hiroyuki said gladly. _So Chii and I enter Hiroyuki's apartment and took off our shoes and left them from at the front entrance. I was happy to come to a place with good smelling food, cooler weather and of course have my dear persocom with me. Hope we can stay here longer than just one night…

_To Be Continued…_


	5. Chapter 5: Chii still understands

◊◊ **Chapter 5 – Chii still understands ◊◊**

_We last left off with Hideki and Chii finally arriving at Hiroyuki's apartment to spend the night traveling from Tokyo. So far everything seems to be all right although Hideki still can't get over the close call he had with Chii on their way to the apartments. More importantly, Chii seemed to be doing ok. The story continues…_

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"Hideki, how about you try the mashed potatoes?" Hiroyuki requested. "Don't mind if I do!" Hideki replied in a gobble with food in his mouth.

While Hideki stuffed his face with a home cooked meal, Chii was sitting beside Hideki with a curious look as her head was tilt a little. Her mouth in the shape of a small letter "o" was watching Hideki eat like crazy. Soon, Chii began to copy what Hideki was doing and pretended to stuff food in her mouth by swinging her arms through the air and bringing it to her mouth while saying "Chii". Hiroyuki just sat back and watched Hideki and Chii act like how they normally do while almost forgetting that he was watching them. Hideki stopped eating and took first notice of Chii copying his actions. "Ha-ha, am I really eating so much?" Hideki asked with a tease towards Chii. Chii looks at his stomach and looks next to Hideki and says "where does the food go?" Hideki giggled at the fact that Chii made a joke.

"I'm guessing by the emptiness of the plates and dishes that you enjoyed my cooking?" Hiroyuki said to Hideki. "I sure did, ever since the heat wave I barely had a decent meal. I've been filling up on rice balls and ramen noodles. "Hideki answered. "Wow, a diet like that is sure to make you feel a little sick" Hiroyuki replied.

As Hiroyuki and Hideki were in the living room talking about each others' school lives, Chii was in the kitchen looking around at Hiroyuki's apartment. She turned to the entrance that lead to the living room and saw the two talked and sometimes laugh now and then. She decided to walk in to be with them. There she stood looking down at them and then she said "Chii?" Hideki looked up at Chii once he heard her say that and noticed that she had a new change of clothes. Chii was wearing a light green and brown dress that had a renaissance look and feel to it. There was a small white bow around her waist that wrapped around her like a belt.

"Wow Chii, I don't remember you bringing that outfit with you. Where did you get that?" Hideki asked curiously. "Hey that dress looks great on you! That dress belongs to my sister; I don't think she would mind you in it for tonight Chii." Hiroyuki replied with reassurance. "I like it, you look really beautiful Chii" Hideki said with amazement. Chii smiled wide when she heard Hideki say that. "Chii is beautiful?" She said with the same smile towards Hideki. "Of course you are Chii; you're the best persocom ever! There's nothing about you that I don't like." Hideki said happily while looking at Chii. Chii smiled even more now and if she could, she would cry in bliss. She kneeled over to Hideki and gave him a hug to show that what he said made her very happy. "Chii will go outside and look at the bright white circle light in the sky." She said to Hideki. "Oh that is the Moon you are talking about Chii." Hideki replied back. "Moon? Bright light is the moon?" Chii said inquisitively. "Yup, don't stare at it too long." Chii nodded her head and gave a soft bow to Hideki and Hiroyuki and left the room. "Boy you really have some persocom there Hideki. You're so lucky to have one like her. I wish I had one." Hiroyuki said with a little sadness. Hiroyuki and Hideki continued on the discussion about persocoms then drifted off about talking other things.

Chii closed the front door behind her and walked downstairs to where she could get a clear view of the moon. When Chii saw the moon she began to stare deeply at it. Almost losing herself in the view, she almost fell over by staring at it too much. She then looked away and looked around to see the other parts of the town. Chii didn't advance too far from the apartment. She instead went over to where the gates were and watched everyone else leave their houses or get in their car or take an evening walk. Chii smiled as she was watching all of this and began to drift off into watching the scenery. She closed her eyes and just felt happy to be in the moment and just feeling relaxed. As she was feeling calm, she felt a cold chill blow her hair slightly. She turned around to see what it was that did that. The man in black was behind her and he was staring directly at her eyes. Chii had not seen this guy up close like Hideki mentioned earlier but now that she has this opportunity, she pays attention to his face. This figure with a black top hat and long black silky hair almost covering one of his red eyes and a skin so pale it was almost ghostly. If you had turned around and saw this description of a figure doing that to you, you'd get a strange shiver in your stomach and throughout your back. Chii didn't feel anything as she wasn't human but she just said "Chii?" "Yes, Chii…that is your name. I've been watching you for quite some time now and now I must ask…where is your owner? I'm in such a rush and it is urgent that I must speak to your owner as the news I have to offer him will make him happy" The figure spoke to Chii. "Happy? Chii asked. "Hideki will be happy? Chii wants Hideki to be happy" she said with her usual innocence not making out much of this situation.

"Hideki is your owner's name?" the figure asked Chii

"Hideki is Chii's owner." She answered promptly

The man in black smiled softly and then asked "Where is your owner Chii?"

Chii pointed toward the door of the apartment of where Hideki and Hiroyuki were staying. The figure in black looked to the direction of where Chii was pointing and took two steps back and softly bowed to Chii and walked up the stairs leading to the door of the Hiroyuki's unit. Chii with curiosity followed the man from behind. Hideki and Hiroyuki were still talking about their lives and Hideki was about to get up to get ready for bed. "Man, it's been a day all right. I just want to plop right into bed and just forget about this day." Hideki said with exhaustion. "I agree with you there but you might want to get Chii before you hit the hay." Hiroyuki suggested. "Yes I should", Hideki replied while now going towards the door to call out for Chii. Just as soon as he was about to open the door, a knock overfills the room and Hiroyuki sits up from it. "Who could that be at this time of night?" Hiroyuki said. "Probably Chii…she must have thought the door was locked." Hideki answered. Hideki opens the door and to his surprise…it wasn't Chii but the man in black that he had seen earlier today.

The man in black walks in says "Good evening sir, are you Hideki?" Hideki suddenly recalls him from earlier today as he remembers the black trench coat and the black hat. "Hey, were you that guy from before at the train station?" Hideki asked. "I don't know what you are talking about…I am here in the offering of a gift to you, Hideki." The man in black said back. Hideki confused to as what he just said give him a look of "what are you talking about?" Before the man in black was about to say anything, Chii appears from behind and Hideki notices her. "Hey Chii there you are, I was about to come and get you." Hideki said happily. The man in black feeling cut off from what he was about to say continues anyway now that he has both people in the room.

"Hideki, I am a messenger and I am prepared to give you one million dollars!" the man in black said to Hideki. "W-WHAT!" Hideki said with a double take. Not believing him for a second he asks "I won a million dollars and for what?" "You are a chosen finalist in our contest from overseas and you have been selected." Hideki gives Hiroyuki a glance from the corner of his eyes like he was saying to him "you buying this bull or what?" Hideki may not have grown up in the big city, but even he wouldn't be so stupid to as to fall for something like that. Hideki plays along by saying "What's the catch?" "Hmm…seems as though you humans have gotten smarter…" The man in black says sarcastically to himself. "Ok human…how about you can pay off your college education for starters!" He says with annoyance. Hideki still had the look of not accepting his offer. "Fine…that didn't work so I'll come clean human. The catch is…I want Chii for the exchange." The man in black says.

"You want Chii for one million dollars!" Hideki said in surprise. He could not believe his ears that someone would offer so much in exchange for Chii. "I really do have the money Hideki…it is a great deal and it wouldn't just be for your education but for many things afterwards…and then some!" He also says. "I'm sorry sir but even if it was for a lot more, I would not give up Chii for anything. She means so much more to me than money." Hideki said highly. Chii hugs Hideki after hearing him say that and Hideki hugs back and then he looks back at the man in black. The man in black a little annoyed to hear of him rejecting his offer gave off a cold stare at Hideki's eyes and stood motionless for a few seconds. Hideki taking notice of his body standing still felt something tingle in his stomach…a butterfly feeling. "I…hope you reconsider Hideki. This is something I do not do…ever! As you can see from the high amount of currency being offered how much I need Chii." The man in black replies impatiently. "I'm sorry sir, but I will not give up Chii to you no matter how much you offer me and that's final" Hideki said back with impatience of his own.

The man in black still in a frozen state then shows some animation and smiles slowly. A cold stare between him and Hideki was growing intense even Hiroyuki felt uneasy. He did not like the looks of where this was going. Hiroyuki was almost expecting a fight to erupt so he stands up in preparation of that happening. "Fine Hideki…I see how it is. What a shame…that's an awful lot of money a boy your age could amass so young. Farewell then Hideki…Chii" The man in black said as he put on his hat, turned around, and walked and closed the door slowly behind him. Hideki still standing at the same spot while trying to figure out what had just happened. He scratches his head and looks at Hiroyuki and Chii copies what Hideki was doing while saying "Chii…"

"What…was that all about?" Hideki said out loud to Hiroyuki. "I have no idea…I can't believe he'd even have the gull to march in my apartment and prepare an offer like that." Hiroyuki replied back. Hideki really couldn't make much sense out of it either. Furthermore, he wondered why he wanted Chii so much…and did he really have a million dollars that he was actually going to shell out? "He wanted to buy Chii?" Chii asked Hideki. "He tried to Chii. He needs to understand that no matter what anyone gave to me, I'd never give you up for anything." Chii smiled and her eyes became heavy with happiness and she softly hugged Hideki. "Chii…you mean far too much to me. I don't need money...I really only need you. I can make the money…but it's you that I need to support me. Chii…you are the best!" Hideki said happily to Chii. Hideki and Chii embrace in a heartfelt hug. "It is very sweet of you two to be so close…but it is almost midnight and I have classes tomorrow." Hiroyuki interrupted with a sweat drop going down his face. "Ah sorry, I am a little tired myself. Let's turn in eh Chii?" Hideki asked Chii. "Chii!" she replied with a squeal.

"Well good night you two" Hiroyuki said to Hideki and Chii as he walked into his room to go to sleep. "Good night!" Hideki replied back while buttoning his pajamas that he brought with him in his backpack. "Chii doesn't have any sleepwear" she said to Hideki. "Oh? I thought I brought some with me before we left" Hideki replied as he began looking through his backpack to see if he did bring anything. "I guess not. Ah well then…here use this Chii."

Hideki unbuttoned the shirt piece of his pajamas and gave it to Chii while still wearing the pants part of the pajamas. Chii smiled and said "thank you Hideki." "Hey it's nothing. Now let's get some sleep." Hideki replied. Chii began to take off the dress she was wearing earlier and tossed it over her on the couch and slipped on Hideki's pajama shirt. Wearing only the pajama shirt and a pair of satin pink and white panties that Hideki brought Chii one day at that lingerie store many years ago. Hideki watching Chii as she was putting on his shirt just happened to notice the panties she had on and he had the flashback of when he got them.

He remembered slowly walking up to the lady requesting the one pair of panties and how he rushed out of there like mad toward his apartment unit. Hideki's heart beat fast while recalling that moment…and how nerve racking that was. All those people staring…I bet they still thought of Hideki as a pervert he thought to himself. "Chii is all done" she said as she finished making out the bed for them to sleep on. They had to sleep on the floor but luckily Hideki brought a sleeping bag for them. Hideki and Chii snuggled in the sleeping bag and moved to each other close and held each other. "Good night Chii" Hideki whispered softly in Chii's ear. Then he gives Chii a peck on her forehead and brushes back some of her smooth golden hair back. "Good night Hideki" Chii responded back as she rested her hands on Hideki's fit chest admiring the firmness of his body and feeling the feint heartbeat coming from him from time to time. The two slowly fell asleep as tomorrow was yet another day.

_To Be Continued…_


	6. Chapter 6: Nothing but the truth

◊◊ **Chapter 6 –Nothing but the truth ◊◊**

**Hello everyone! This is the author. I'm sorry I haven't updated my stories in a while. I'm going to try to put more effort into this. Thank you so much for the ones that have responded and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories. Even for those that haven't commented, please it is always welcome and I'd love to hear from you.**

_In our previous chapter, Hideki and Chii settle in at Hiroyuki's apartment. Chii was in a new area that she had never been to before so she looked around. She meets up with the man in black from back in the train station and he seemed to have an urgent message for Hideki. What was it? It was One million dollars to be exact…in exchange for Chii that is. Hideki refused and although he knew sincerely that he did the right thing…he had a bad feeling that refusing would cause problems down the road if he should ever meet him again. The story continues…_

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…

(Tossing and tumbling)

(Eyes open)

…_what the? I can't breathe. What is happening? I look up at the window behind me and I quickly turned back for a strong overpowering ray of light was beaming in on me. I couldn't breathe…because it was very hot in here. It was fine last night…but today…_

_ Today…is just as hot as it was the first day in Tokyo. Shit…that heat wave made its way southward! I got up from my sleeping bag and headed toward the windows. I shut the blinds but it did not solve the heat. I looked at Chii and she was tossing and turning in discomfort. I knew the reason why, the heat was damaging her systems and yet again…I felt powerless._

_ I walked over to Chii and I held her up and when I did, she softly said "Hideki…help." Hearing her say that gave me a shiver down my spine. While I was sitting Chii up, I heard Hiroyuki come out of his room. _"Oh good grief…need to turn on the air conditioning. What time is it anyway!" Hiroyuki said out loud. _I looked at my digital watch and it read 11:25AM. It is 11:25 Hiroyuki I told him._ "Damn it is hot…I guess that heat wave made its way to Osaka eh? I'm sure my classes will be cancelled because of this extreme weather." Hiroyuki said with disappointment.

_ I found it strange that we left from Tokyo only to have the same things happening here…and Chii suffering again. I felt very upset at the moment for how Mother Nature was treating Japan right about now, but my thoughts quickly changed as I felt Chii leaning against my chest from weakness._

_ This was bad…AGAIN this is happening and all that traveling to here wasn't worth it at all. Damn the heat and the weather! What can I do about Chii? We are far away from home and I can't live out of a backpack forever. I'm going to have to make the best of it. "Chii wake up! Please wake up…you can get through this!" I raised my voice with concern._

"Hey Hideki, the air conditioning isn't working as expected. I'm gonna see if I can get someone to take a look at it in the area. I know where you two can go. I assume the train station will have power failures so they won't be in operation for a while, so you two can go west from here about a mile or so and there you will see a big tree. Take Chii there and maybe she'll recover faster…or at least stop the sun from beating on her." Hiroyuki recommended.

_ I followed his advice and I stood Chii up and after I did, Chii opened her eyes._ "Chii?" she said with a drained voice. "Chii…come with me, I'm gonna take you to a place that has lots of shade so you can rest." I said to her.

_ Minutes later, I took Chii with me to the place that Hiroyuki told me to go. West from here about a mile and from there you will see a large tree. I wouldn't be surprised to see many other people there too. "Chii…are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked her. _"Chii is ok…very hot though." She responded. "_Don't worry Chii…we are almost there." I was tempted to run so I can get there quicker, but I don't think Chii would keep up or doing so might make her drain faster._

_ I felt a little tired also and I'm not wearing a lot of clothing. I'm wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. I brought my backpack full of water from Hiroyuki's fridge. I pulled one out and took a big chug and I also opened one up for Chii. "Hold still Chii" I said to her. I poured the cold water from the bottle on her head so she can feel cooler faster. I would assume the CPU of her is in her head…so I'd want to cool that area first._

_ Chii smiled wide as I continued to pour the water over her. She definitely felt much cooler. _"Chiiiiiiii" she said in a smile. _Once the bottle was empty, we resumed our walk towards the tree and now that I mention it, I can see it from here. From over here, it looks like no one was there. It must be a secret spot that Hiroyuki knows about. How can no one know about this though…I mean look how big that tree is! I think I would see it for at least a few more miles._

_ As soon as I realized it, we were climbing up the hill towards that tree which was now about a few tens of yards away from us. I looked back and I noticed that Chii was having a little difficulty going up this hill. I walked down some to help her up the hill so she wouldn't tumble or fall. The hill had some slope…so this did present a challenge for the would-be hiker. As we marched up further to the tree, I felt my cell phone vibrate. I couldn't answer now as I might let Chii tumble over. After a few more strides, we were there and once we got to the top, we just plopped down on our rears and gave out a big sigh. Well…Chii said "Chiiiiiiii" instead. Still feeling my cell phone ringing, I flipped it open and it was Shinbo calling me._

"_Hello Shinbo"_

"Ah Hideki, I heard that the heat wave stuck down to Osaka. Are you and Chii in Osaka yet?"

"_Yes we are, we got here last night and we spent the night at one of my friends' apartments._

_While I was talking to Shinbo, Chii took off her usual brown dress that she wore and she threw it alongside of me. I wasn't expecting her to do that…so that made me blush and smile some. After that, she slowly leaned over towards my way and she rested her head on my lap and sighed._

"_Oh hey by the way Shinbo. I do not recommend coming down here to visit me. Better wait till I come back home to Kabu Jougasaki's apartments."_

"Yea, I suddenly changed my mind when I turned on the TV earlier this morning."

"_Gahh…it is so bad Shinbo…you would not believe."_

"I think I can understand it very well Hideki. It's still very hot here too."

"_WHAT! I THOUGHT IT CAME DOWN SOUTH ONLY!"_

"Nope, turns out that this heat system expanded. So it's now all of middle Japan that's in this. Boy this is sure the hottest weather of the season isn't it?"

"_No kidding. I don't know if I can…"_

"Hideki? Are you ok? What were you gonna say?"

"_I think the heat has driven me a little insane. Here I am thinking the world is going to end HA-HA-HA-HA."_

"Hmm I'd take it easy if I were you Hideki…humans are prone to heat stroke if they feel they are going insane."

"_Shinbo…I was only kidding…"_

"Oh I see…sorry! You sounded so serious there for a minute"

"_Yea…hey how is the apartment doing anyway?"_

_While I am talking on the phone, I hear a plane and a helicopter fly over me so I look and follow their direction with my eyes while listening to Shinbo_

"Terrible shape, Chitose also asks me where you are very often. I keep telling her that he and Chii are in Osaka. The units are very hot and the air conditioning doesn't work. No one is in their units, I'm actually outside."

"_Sheesh…and I was almost thinking about going back there today, but some trains are having problems so I really can't at the moment"_

"Maybe you should wait till tomorrow. Oh and Hideki, I should tell you that when you get back here you might want to…"

"_Hmm? Do what Shinbo? Shinbo!"_

_ I looked at my phone and the screen was black. I also noticed that the green power light wasn't on anymore. I felt the underside of the phone and where the battery was located felt VERY hot. Damn! The batteries must have fried in this heat. I lost Shinbo…now he'll probably think that I hung up on him. Now I was out of a cell phone and I didn't bring my charger. I couldn't have Chii take my calls as that would require more power from her to generate and that would be too much for her._

_ I looked at Chii and she was still resting on my lap. She moved from time to time trying to get more comfortable. I just rest my head back on the tree bark behind me and closed my eyes in exhaustion. Well it's a good thing the sun is out actually…to provide us with such shade. Without giving it much thought, I just slowly closed my eyes and drifted away in a nap. I felt Chii do the same thing._

**Meanwhile back at Kabu Jougasaki**

"Call connection was lost on Hideki's end" Sumomo relayed to Shinbo. "Hmm the heat must have killed his batteries." Shinbo replied. "Well that's all right, at least I know he's holding up well. Come on; let's see if Takako is leaving the school now." "You got it!" Sumomo replied back.

Shinbo and Sumomo went to Harete University where teacher, Takako Shimizu taught English Conversation at. She had brown hair that went off to both sides of her face and they had a curly spike to them. Her chestnut eyes were almost the same as Chii's and it had that mystical look to them. Hideki and Shinbo were pupils of hers and Shinbo especially wanting to see her since he and Takako were a couple. He wanted to see her because she was leaving school early as she just found out that classes will not resume after all because of the heat being so bad.

"Ah Takako!" Shinbo yelled out to her as she was walking out to her car. Shinbo ran towards her with a smile while poor little Sumomo was hanging on to his shoulder from the full speed he was running at. "Hey Shinbo" Takako responded when he caught up. Both gave each other a light hug as it was a little too hot to be hugging real close. More like too sticky to even wear clothes.

"School was cancelled after all eh?" Shinbo said to start off the small talk. "Yes and it's a good thing too, I wouldn't want to teach a class with no air conditioning. My students would hardly be able to concentrate and so would I." Takako and Shinbo leaned against the side door of Takako's car and looked out from the parking lot to the main building.

There a gigantic building with many windows and trees was beautifully shading the stairway to the front entrance. There they see a few people coming out of the university for they too have must have learned that school won't be in session today. "So did you talk with Hideki?" Takako asked Shinbo. "I was just talking with him a while ago but his call got dropped. The heat may have drained his batteries further." Shinbo replied. "Well the weather has been incredibly unusual as of late. I hope this all comes to pass real soon" Takako said. Shinbo and Takako continued to talk about the recent events going on in Japan.

**Back in Osaka at around noon**

Chii and Hideki continued to sit at the big tree that still provided much shade for the both of them. In fact they felt so relaxed that both of them even took a nap under the tree. Chii woke up as she felt her hand getting hot. She looked at her hand and then looked up in the sky and gave a curious expression. As the hours went on, so did the sun. The shade was drifting away from them and Chii took notice of this. Chii crawled over Hideki who was slouching against the tree almost snoring away. Chii still had her dress off on Hideki was in fact recovering much better than having the dress on. She gently pulled Hideki to her direction so he would be in the shade too. The tugging caused Hideki to almost fall on Chii. She just smiled and held on to Hideki while he was still sleeping.

Hideki then woke up from the feeling of being moved around and noticed that he was looking at the tree bark in front of him. He just stood there not knowing what he was looking at until he heard Chii go "Chiii" with a soft coo. Hideki's attention shifted to his lower left and then his focus was on Chii's body. "I must have died and gone to heaven! Maybe that heat wasn't so bad after all." Hideki thought to himself with a smile. Hideki then looked up and saw Chii's face and right away noticing that it was Chii he jumped up in excitement like he got caught doing something wrong.

Chii waved her arms in the air almost trying to imitate Hideki while saying "Chiii". "Ahh Chii? That's right; you took off your dress because of this heat. How are you feeling Chii?" "Chii is feeling much better than yesterday or the day before. Chii's systems are up at 70" Chii responded. "That's wonderful Chii, that is definitely good news!" Hideki said. He was relieved that Chii's systems were improving that he even felt confident on heading back to town. "Hey Chii, I know it's tempting but we can't stay here forever." While Hideki was still talking, the clouds began to cover the sun as a storm was approaching. Chii looked to her left and saw the shadow of the leaves disappear. "No shadow" Chii said as she pointed to the ground where the shadow was a few seconds ago. "Oh this is really good news, it looks like we will finally have some relief!" Hideki said with excitement.

The storm approached the area of Osaka that Chii and Hideki were in and slowly the rain came down. Both were noticing the rain getting heavier as they still stood underneath the tree. The two stood up and began to embrace the water coming from the leaves above them. Chii bent over and picked up her brown dress that she had took off earlier and put it back on. Hideki with his arms spread out and his face held high in the sky enjoying every drop of water landing on his body. While both of them enjoyed the sensation of relief that the rain was bringing them, Chii suddenly took a moment to think about last night. "Hideki?" Chii said while tugging on Hideki's shirt. "Hmm? What's wrong Chii?" Hideki asked. "I need to tell you something about last night while I was outside. It's about that man that came to Mr. Hiroyuki's apartment. Hideki turned his body to give Chii is full attention. "We can talk about it Chii. Do you mind if we walked in the rain? It will really help cool your systems further." Hideki suggested. Chii smiled and nodded.

Hideki and Chii both walked from the tree and out into the field to absorb all the much needed rain falling. Hideki had his right arm around Chii's shoulder as she began to talk about last night. At this moment things seemed to be doing all right. Hideki asked himself if Tokyo was getting this rain too. He was really worried about Shinbo and Sumomo. He was also thinking about Ms. Hibiya and what has become of her. He felt that they were all right and with time, he will be able to come home when things have returned to normal.

_To Be Continued…_


	7. Chapter 7: Hope for the best

◊◊ **Chapter 7 – Hope for the best ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Chii and Hideki were still trying to pull through the heat in Osaka. A rainstorm came and provided them with relief as they stood outside underneath the big tree Hiroyuki told them to go. Although things seem to calm down some; Chii reminded herself to tell Hideki about the mysterious man from yesterday. The story continues…_

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"I see now. So he wanted more information regarding you? I'm glad you didn't tell him anymore than you did Chii." Hideki said. Chii put on a soft smile and she looked away slightly. "Is…Chii in trouble?" Chii asked out loud. "No you're not in trouble! Like I said a long time ago though, you have to be careful with certain people in this world. Remember that guy that took you into that peep show?" Hideki said. Chii began to remember what happened up to the point when she lost her self-control. "Chii remembers. Chii…didn't like being there." Chii said sadly. "I know you didn't and I wish I could have gotten there sooner. Anyway, you're safe now and that's all that matters." Hideki said while gently brushing his hand on Chii's cheek.

"You know, this is nice. The rain has died down some and there is a gentle cool breeze sweeping through. You and I walking down this field together makes life feel better. I don't know if I would want to go home." Hideki said as he threw his arms back behind his head. "Chii is happy too. Chii is happy that Hideki is taking good care of me." Chii responded. The two walked down the path that led to the towns that they left earlier today. The grass was green all around them and while the skies were grey, it still felt serene in its own way. The rain was gentle and like Hideki said, the wind was soothing. Despite all this however, Hideki still had that mysterious guy in his mind from yesterday. He couldn't believe that offered so much money for Chii. The more Hideki thought about that situation, the more he found it insulting that he thought he could buy a persocom off of someone like that.

_If Chii is happy then that's all I care about. Something about that guy though that doesn't stick well with me. I sworn I felt something about him. Maybe for our own good we should make it back to Tokyo so we don't see him again. _"Hey Chii. How about we head back for home tomorrow?" Chii began to look at Hideki as he began to talk. "We can spend the night at Hiroyuki's again, if he lets us, and we will leave early in the morning to catch the train to Tokyo. How does that sound Chii? Hideki asked. "Chii!" She responded with a squeal. "This way we can avoid that guy and we won't see him no more." Hideki added.

The two headed back to town to the apartments to talk with Hiroyuki about spending the night again. Hideki thought to himself that this plan would be great and that the trains would be near empty at that time. Chii and Hideki went inside Hiroyuki's unit and began to dry themselves off to relax.

**Back in Tokyo**

Ms. Chitose stood before the entrance to Hideki's apartment unit worried about his safety. She hasn't seen him since the previous night. She thought to herself that she shouldn't have left early in the morning to get more ice. Ms. Chitose had a feeling that they needed more help since the weather was getting worse that night. She turned around and looked outside at the sky hoping that Hideki and Chii are alright and will come home soon. The heat in Tokyo was still there but it wasn't as bad as the first day. Even Ms. Chitose was feeling better as she was in a white tank top and wearing blue shorts. Saying her thoughts to herself and hoped for Hideki and Chii's safety, she went out to the front to do her laundry. She did have some other thoughts though. She said out loud as she looked in the sky again, "for a hot day…the clouds are grey. And it looks to be overcast. It must be raining further south of here."

Some time later in Osaka, Hideki and Hiroyuki were sitting on a couch looking at the TV trying to pass the time. Chii was passing the time by being on Hiroyuki's computer. He taught Chii how to use his computer and to connect to the internet. Chii could very easily connect to the internet and do everything that this computer could already do, but Hideki didn't want Chii to use up her resources on that. Hideki was still looking out for Chii and her feeling better was a great thing. He wanted her to continue feeling better and even Chii agreed with Hideki. Chii continued to sit there leaning over a little bit using the wireless mouse to navigate the many web pages she came across.

Chii leaned back on the chair and tilted her head up and moved her head sideways. Hideki for a moment looked at her movements. It was as though her neck was getting sore from leaning in too much. Hideki was about to help her with her posture until he saw Chii look down at the seat she was in and noticed two levers on it. She pulled one of them up and this caused the seat to rise up from the ground. Chii then looked at the monitor and noticed that the view was much better and that she didn't have to lean in anymore. Chii smiled and continued navigating websites as though nothing happened. Hideki raised an eyebrow as Chii's cleverness and he was very impressed. _Wow Chii, you really are becoming smart about your surroundings. I'm very happy for you._

The sun began to set as Hiroyuki sat on the same couch as earlier and had several books out in front of him. He was studying for an exam the next week and he did his studying alone while Hideki and Chii were playing chess in the dining room. They had been playing for about 30 minutes now and Hideki was losing. He knew he wasn't very good at chess but he knew enough to teach Chii how to play. Boy did she learn fast. Hideki looked at Chii who had a blank expression while she stared at the chess board. Playing a strategy game with Chii like chess is probably not a good idea Hideki thought to himself. _She's probably seeing over 30 possible moves she could do. Not to mention the million of ways I could lose_.

While Hideki and Chii were playing chess and Hiroyuki studying, time flew some more as Shinbo came to Ms. Chitose's apartment unit. "Ahh this is a surprise seeing you here. What can I do for you?" Ms. Chitose asked. "Well I stopped by to see if Hideki was here…and no one answered the door. It's pretty quiet around here without him in the apartments. I wondered if you knew when he would come back from Osaka yet." Shinbo explained. Ms. Chitose gently shook her head no "I'm sorry, I have not been informed when he will return. I'm hoping he will be back tomorrow morning or so." Ms. Chitose replied. "Hmm I figured as such. Well it's pretty lonely in my unit; do you want to grab something to eat?" Shinbo offered. "That sounds good to me, hold on I'll get changed." Ms. Chitose replied while going to her room to change. Shinbo went back to his unit to get Sumomo and his bag.

The starry night of Osaka came before anyone could realize it. It was around 10 in the evening and most of Japan was preparing to hit the bed. Most of the country was cool from the big storm that had transpired while the others were still warm and some still without air conditioning. Hideki was with Hiroyuki as he was telling him about their plan to leave tomorrow. "I want to thank you for letting us stay here another night Hiroyuki!" Hideki said with a cheer. "It's no problem; I understand that things are still rough back in Tokyo. The forecast for tomorrow said it wasn't going to be so bad now. Most of the heat wave will pass by later tonight." Hiroyuki explained. "That is great news because that's when we will be leaving. I want to make sure we get that train!" Hiroyuki said with confidence. "You guys will be fine. I'm glad I got to see you and your persocom. Makes me want to go out and get one of my own…if I could afford one. You are really lucky Hideki" Hiroyuki said while giving Hideki a light punch on the arm. "Yea, I'm glad I got to see you too. Maybe when everything has really calmed down, you should come up to Tokyo to visit." Hideki offered. "I'd love to but I can't at the moment. This week and next week will be rough. I have to cram for that exam next week." Hiroyuki replied. "Hope you pass. Then you can come to visit." Hideki said with a smile. "Thanks, well I hope you two have a good trip back home. Be safe." Hiroyuki said with good wishes. "We will, good night" Hideki replied.

Hideki went back to the living room where Chii was and he began to get his stuff ready to leave tomorrow. Chii didn't bring much so carrying the backpack wasn't a big deal. He thought to himself that maybe he should stock at least two water bottles from Hiroyuki's fridge before he left. He gave it thought and said he'd do it right before he left so it will still be cold. Hideki turned to Chii who had the sleeping bag ready and was already getting comfortable inside. Hideki then came inside with Chii to prepare for a good night's sleep. "Chii" she said while looking at Hideki. Hideki looked at her and got in close and put her arms around her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Chii smiled and fell fast asleep. The two dosed off for a long night ahead of them.

**The next morning**

The long night was quiet with the occasional sound of cars passing by in the streets. Outside…the weather was something else. _BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! _"Huh? What is it? Oh! The time!" Hideki had suddenly realized the clock next to him. The clock read "6AM" and this was the time Hideki wanted to wake up to get ready to leave for the train station. Hideki hurried with his clothing while accidentally waking Chii in the process. "Chii?" she said while rubbing her eyes. "Chii, this is the time I had set for us to leave. I know it's very early in the morning but we have to get there before the trains crowd with people." Hideki explained. Chii understood what he said but she was still coming out of her sleep mode. Hideki was already dressed to go and had his backpack on the couch. "Oh wait, I'd better bring some water" Hideki remembered. While Hideki in the kitchen, Chii took off her sleepwear and proceeded to put on her usual brown dress. She was still tired but when her dress was on she stood there waiting for Hideki to come back. Hideki came back and before he put on his backpack, he noticed that Chii's dress was on backwards. "Chii, your dress is on backwards" Hideki said with a smile. Hideki took a moment to realize how much he was rushing Chii and thought to himself that he should slow down. Persocoms take a while to come out of sleep mode just like humans.

After Chii re-adjusted her dress so it was forward, Hideki headed for the door. Before he went any further, he gave the living room one last look and to check to see if he forgot anything. _I will miss being here. I'll have to be sure to visit him whenever I don't have much to do. It was nice being here. _ "Ok…ready Chii?" Hideki looked at Chii with a confident smile. Chii smiled and nodded. Chii had finally come out of sleep mode and was fully awake. Both left the front door of Hiroyuki's apartment while Hideki took the key out of his pocket. He locked the front door with it and he placed it in a hidden pouch that was located near the door for Hiroyuki to take. Knowing that Hideki would leave early in the morning, he gave him the key to leave behind after he locked the front door.

Down the stairs they went to leave the complex of the apartments. Hideki didn't run but brisk walked it out of there. Chii followed behind Hideki to keep up with his change in pace. "Hey! Do you feel that Chii? The heat…it's gone!" Hideki said excitingly. "Chii!" she replied with a squeal. The weather was certainly much cooler than the past two days. Of course, it was around 6:15AM now and the skies were a dark blue. The sun hasn't even come over the horizon so the relief Hideki feels is the coolness of the night. Chii's systems were picking up warm temperatures around her and she relayed them to Hideki. "The temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit." "Wow that's very good! If we make it back to Tokyo, we will still be in that cool weather." Hideki replied.

Hideki thought to himself the turn of events that has happened and that here he was out in the early morning to a train station. _Jeez…I had no idea I'd be out this early in the morning just to escape from terrible weather. I hope I won't have to do this again anytime soon._ While Hideki was thinking to himself, Chii points to an area in front of them. "Ah that's it! There's the train station and it doesn't look bad at all." Hideki said. Once Hideki took notice of this, his pace began to speed up. For someone that woke up so early in the morning, he sure was going fast. Chii almost couldn't keep up. "Chiiiiii" she said. Hideki turned around to Chii who was a little ways behind. "I'm sorry Chii" Hideki said with a look of embarrassment. He slowed down to allow Chii to catch up.

The two arrive at the train station at around 6:25AM just in the nick of time before the train left for Tokyo. "Come on Chii, hurry!" Hideki said in a panic. Hideki held on to Chii's hand while he was almost running like mad to make it to the doors. They get through the doors and right there was some open seats. Hideki quickly sat down as he threw his arms in the air happy that he made it to the train. Chii sat beside him and rested her head on Hideki's shoulder and she mimicked Hideki's motion of having his arms in the air. The other people on the train were all looking in Hideki's direction. Some had a look of confusion while others wondered what the heck was wrong with this boy. Making such an excitement, Hideki looked around the room and saw everyone staring at him. A sweat drop came from Hideki's face and he gave out a nervous laughter. Everyone else minded their business and stopped paying attention to Hideki. Hideki with his eyes closed thought to himself _"I'm making a fool out of myself…at 6:30 in the morning…"_ Hideki looked at Chii and smiled.

About an hour has passed and Hideki was still feeling a little tired. With waking up early and then running to the train station, you'd think that wake anyone up. It actually made Hideki more tired but he tired to keep awake. Chii was facing the windows to see the view of many objects passing by train. "You like looking out the window eh?" Hideki asked Chii. "This train moves fast. Everything passes by Chii." She answered. Hideki laughed as he began to look out the window too. While Hideki and Chii were both admiring the sights of the sun rising and the view of cities in the early morning, they both hear someone further from them say "Boy…these past days have been hot don't you think?" "I'll say it was but I'm glad I'm getting out of here" Hideki replied while still looking out the window with Chii. "You know…it's going to be just as hot as it was these two days in Tokyo" the voice said. "No way, my friend told me that the weather was going to be…" Hideki said in mid sentence as he turned to where the voice was coming from. Hideki froze for a moment as his sights were on the mysterious man in black from before.

"It's…It's you!" Hideki said out loud. Some of the same people that looked at Hideki earlier looked his way again. The mysterious man leaned against a wall with his legs out on the seats in front of him. The hat he was wearing was covering one of his eyes except the one that had a cold fixed look at Hideki. Chii turned around after noticing Hideki's voice. Both Hideki and Chii were looking at the mysterious man. "Well…Hideki, are we destined by the red strings of fate?" The mysterious man asked. "Wha…what do you mean!" Hideki replied. "Well…you see. We are going to keep running into each other like this. There is of course a reason for this." The mysterious man said with a soft smirk.

"Look if it's about the money you offered, I told you I refuse! I said it the other night and I'm saying it again now. Leave us alone!" Hideki yelled. Other people on the bus were looking at the situation going on in this section of the train. "Oh about the money I offered. Forget about it. I did have it Hideki. Why would I give money away like that? Simple, I have no need for money. You humans on the other hand, simply can't live without it. But I guess you are different…" The mysterious man stopped himself in mid sentence. He picked up his briefcase and opened it in front of Hideki to reveal all the money he could have gotten for Chii. Hideki's eyes widened as he saw more money he could count. Wrapped neatly in straps, it looked to be how much he said. While Hideki and Chii were still staring at the money, the mysterious man closed the briefcase quickly. He looked at Hideki and Chii as he stood up next to a window and smashed it open with his hand. The mysterious man threw the briefcase out the window. Hideki and Chii were looking out of the door windows and saw it fall into a large lake the train was passing by. "Yes…quite different. You really value your little persocom don't you Hideki?" The mysterious man continued. Hideki couldn't reply. He was still stunned by what he saw.

"What is this all about!" Hideki said angrily. He felt threatened by this situation. "I will not tell you the plan but I will say this. Give. Me. Chii. Now!" The mysterious figure said in a low voice. The eye that was staring at Hideki grew smaller. Hideki could no longer make out the color of this man's eye. "I don't know who you are, but you are not taking Chii" Hideki replied as he stepped forward with his fists up. The man stood giving a smirk. "You humans are just that way aren't you? You have to fight with fists, they do all the talking. It solves everything. Well Hideki, this time, you're wrong! The only thing it will solve is how fast I could throw you out the window and just take Chii." The man replied. Hideki took a step back after hearing what he just said. "Think about it Hideki…I could kill you in over 30 ways. Half of which I could do in front of Chii. But I don't want go that route Hideki. I want this to be a painless little hand over. No fighting has to occur here but I know you are human and you can't help yourself. Relax Hideki; you could always get yourself another persocom." The man said with the same smirk on his face.

Hideki not thinking any more, he began to lunge at the man in black with fists flying. The man simply moved his head back and forth dodging the punches while staring at Hideki's eyes. "Hideki…do you even know what you are doing. You are protecting Chii correct? But right now do you even know what you are doing? You are…NOT protecting Chii!" The man said softly while avoiding Hideki's punches. The mysterious man pushes Hideki aside and lifts his hat to reveal the eye that has been obscured all this time. He looks at Chii and Chii's eyes instantly lose the brown color in them and she falls backwards. Hideki quickly turned around to see Chii on the ground unable to move. "CHIIII!" Hideki screamed. While the mysterious man had his eyes fixed on Chii, Hideki quickly turned to the man and landed a hard punch across his face which sent him to the wall he was sitting on earlier.

Hideki quickly ran to Chii and picked her up. While he was looking at Chii's eyes, the color she had lost temporarily came back. Chii held on to Hideki's arms as she was trying to speak. Hideki with a worried look on his face anticipated Chii to speak. Suddenly, Chii made sounds in her internal system. Chii's eyes dilated and became black. She had shut down. Hideki so stunned that he began to cry.

"Nice hit human. Too bad you weren't protecting your Chii. Heh-heh" The mysterious man smirked. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" Hideki yelled. All the people that were sitting in the area fled as far away from they could from the fight. "Oh don't worry about Chii. It's just what I wanted to sample. Now I know for sure that she is all I need. Oh right…I drained all of her power" The man replied while covering the eye he revealed with his hat. After hearing this, Hideki looked back at Chii with tears in his eyes. He held onto her tight not knowing what to do. "No…Chii! Please wake up!" Hideki said softly in tears. "As much as I would like to respond to your attack in the same fashion, I won't. The fact is, now I want you alive. You see…I can skip this whole spiel and simply take Chii. You have no power and for that, you are no threat to me. But after that hit, I want you to be alive. I want to witness every useless attempt you make at attacking me and furthermore, protecting Chii. You're pathetic Hideki ha-ha. It seems you are a little pre-occupied at the moment, so I'll see you later…Hideki!" The man said with a smile showing all of his teeth. The mysterious man jumped out of the window as quickly as he smashed it and before Hideki could turn around to notice.

The people on the train came back to the area when they saw the man make an exit. Everyone saw Hideki crying hard with his face covered in Chii's hair. Hideki looked at his Chii's face every now and then to see if she would come back to life, but she still didn't move. Hideki felt the presence of the other people looking at him and Chii. He looked at everyone and hoped one of them knew how to restart Chii. While this whole scene continued, the train comes to a halt as the director said on the intercom _"We have arrived at Tokyo. All passengers please watch your step as we have arrived in Tokyo."_ People from the other parts of the train that did not see this happen came to where Hideki and Chii were to exit the train. Even the people outside the train coming in couldn't help but notice what was going on. Hideki with his backpack on held Chii up to leave the train.

Chii was much harder to carry when she wasn't operational, so he dragged her to a nearby bench. Hideki stopped crying and held Chii's face. The sun was in full view over the horizon and this was supposed to be the moment of happiness. Hideki shed a tear at the change of events and looked at Chii. He did not know what to do now…

_To Be Continued…_


	8. Chapter 8: A dire situation

◊◊ **Chapter 8 – A dire situation ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Hideki and Chii left for Tokyo as soon as they heard that the weather was going to be to their liking. They did just that and left early in the morning to catch the train to Tokyo. Along the ride, they met with the mysterious man that has been showing up a few times. We now see that he reveals more of himself and directs an attack on Chii, stealing her power. Chii since this attack has been unable to move. The story continues…_

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Hideki unable to help Chii in any way ended up carrying her back to the apartments. The sight of this was very distraught as people passing by turned to see Hideki carrying a persocom that wasn't functioning. Hideki with a half determined look to get Chii to safety and half with tears still in his eyes. _Chii please hang in there! I will get you home! _"Why…why does this have to happen to me? What did that guy want from Chii! Eversince we saw that guy at the train station, he's been nothing but bad news. It's as though everything was planned right from the beginning." Hideki said out loud.

Carrying Chii was hard because her internal systems were heavy when she wasn't operational. Luckily Hideki made it home before the streets became flooded with people. Hideki turned the corner into the apartments and he heard a sound come from Chii. He looked at her and saw her eyes return to normal and heard the sounds of her systems powering up. Chii became light once again and Hideki smiled so much. "CHII YOU'RE OK!" Hideki yelled in joy. While Hideki was trying to talk to Chii, Ms. Chitose came out of her unit to see what the commotion was outside. She saw Hideki carrying Chii. Chitose smiled when she saw Hideki. She began to run down the stairs to greet Hideki.

Chii tried to stand up as Hideki put her down from his arms. She looked dizzy and she kept looking at the ground trying to stand. Chii turned around and looked at Hideki. She grasped at Hideki tightly and closed her eyes. Chitose observed the situation with Chii and she approached them slowly. Hideki kept looking at Chii not knowing what to do. All Hideki could do was hold Chii tightly, embracing her. He held Chii's chin upward so he could get a good look at her. When he saw her eyes, he heard more sounds inside Chii go off. From Chii's perspective, she saw Hideki's face in tears. Her view was starting to get blurry and Hideki's face becoming unrecognizable. Seconds later, Chii saw nothing but black. Her system then shut down and Chii's head fell forward on Hideki's chest.

Hideki having already seen enough, held on to Chii hard. Chitose came close and asked "Hideki? What's wrong with Chii?" Hideki looked up at Chitose and for a brief moment, he was very happy to see her. "Please, can you help Chii! It's a long story, but all of her power has been drained. That might have been the last of her power." Hideki explained. Chitose looked at Chii and was able to deduce that she had been in bad shape for a while now. Though Chitose's secret was long revealed, she couldn't think of a way of restoring her power. Chii still required a tremendous power source to fully energize her. Solar energy would take a while for her to regenerate. "Hideki, do you still have that note I gave you to let Chii run on an internal battery? You haven't used it yet have you?" Chitose asked. "No I haven't. In the time we have been in Osaka, she's been faring pretty well." Hideki replied. Chitose stood there looking at Chii trying to come up with a solution.

"I need to get Chii inside my place so come with me Chitose" Hideki requested. Chitose nodded and followed Hideki to his unit as he carried Chii along. Once Hideki got up the stairs with Chii, suddenly the weather outside became noticeable. The heat slowly intensified and it began to feel a little muggy out. "That guy…he said that it would get hot again. He was right…" Hideki said quietly to himself. Hideki not giving the heat much more thought, he went inside his place and put Chii on the bed. Hideki looked around the room as it has been a few days since he has been here. Two days ago to be exact and everything was just the way it was before he left. "I'm not sure how we can get Chii to be fully energized again. My power station is down from the heat these past few days. I was going to suggest using the internal battery, but something tells me to wait a while. I'm sorry Hideki." Chitose explained. Hideki was saddened by the news and he continued to look at Chii. "I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to use it anyway since it feels like it's going to get hot again." Hideki replied.

While Chitose and Hideki were looking at Chii on the bed thinking of a solution, they both hear a knock on the door. "HEY! YOU'RE BACK!" Shinbo yelled. Hideki turned around and saw Shinbo and Sumomo standing there at the door. "Hey I'm glad to see you guys!" Hideki said while he went up to them. "Sumomo looks like she's in good shape too!" Hideki said. "Yup, repaired and ready to go. Cost some money…but it was worth it. I don't know what I'd do without her." Shinbo replied. "Well I'm glad you two are all right, it has been a little while now. I'm afraid though now isn't a good time to be cheerful." Hideki said. "Oh? What's wrong Hideki?" "Its Chii…she's not moving. Her power has been drained." Hideki replied while looking down at the ground. He brought Shinbo over to Chii so he could see for himself. Shinbo looked at Chii and tried to make out what to do. "Hideki, how did Chii lose her power? Was it from the heat?" Chitose asked. "No…it wasn't the heat. In fact, I've been lucky that the heat didn't damage her while we were in Osaka. We met someone when we got there. It's a long story…" Hideki explained. "Ya know, it might be a good idea if we let Minoru listen in on this." Shinbo suggested. "Minoru is here?" Hideki asked. "No, but I can have Sumomo here connect to the TV so he can have a video chat with us." Shinbo replied. "That's a good idea. Yes, I think he needs to hear this" Hideki said. Shinbo took Sumomo to Hideki's TV and hooked up the audio/video cables so she was able to connect via video conference. Sumomo then began to dial to Minoru's residence. Seconds later, the video screen came up with Minoru on the other side. "Ahh Hideki, Shinbo, and Ms. Hibiya, how may I help you today?" Minoru said formally.

Hideki took a deep breath and began to explain what happened with Chii. While everyone was getting situated, Chitose walked over to the front door and closed it. Shinbo sat on the opposite side of the bed near Chii's feet while Hideki sat down on the floor looking at Minoru at the monitor. Chitose was near Chii's head watching her now and then to see if she would wake up.

"Minoru, as you are aware about this heat wave we had for a few days now. Chii's systems occasionally shut down from the heat several times. So I took her to Osaka where it was cooler. Upon arriving at Osaka, we saw a man dressed in black and had a top hat. We didn't think much else of him until we saw him appear later that night at my friend's apartment we were staying. He offered me money in order to take Chii away from me. Naturally I refused and he left. I thought that was that. This morning, Chii and I took the train here since we heard the weather was getting better. We then saw that same man in black on the train with us. He offered me again to exchange Chii and I refused again. Suddenly, he lifted his hat and he looked at Chii and drained away all of her power. It happened so fast, I was unable to see how he did it. Chii has barely moved since then. Chii is right here with us. She moved a little bit when I got here, then I heard her systems shut down. I'd like to know if you know of anything I or you could do to fix her." Hideki explained.

"I see, how long has it been since she's been inoperable?" Minoru asked. "About 10 minutes ago she spoke but before then it was about an hour since that attack that man in black did." Hideki replied. "Chitose, I don't suppose you could use your power station could you?" Minoru suggested. "I can't because it is still down from yesterday. I don't think yours will work either" Chitose replied. "Hmm, I think I might have something. Give me a second." Minoru said. Minoru went off screen to go a room where he had tools around. Hideki turned around and looked at Chii again. Chii was still laying there with her eyes closed and her arms out. Hideki held her hand which felt soft and cold. He then held her hand with both of his hands when he felt how cold they were. "I feel bad for Chii. I'd like to know how that man was able to drain all the energy out of Chii in one fell swoop like that." Shinbo said out loud. Hideki heard what Shinbo said but didn't reply. He looked back on the screen at times to see if Minoru would come back. On screen Minoru did come back and he sat down with an item in his hand.

"Hideki, I have here a device that I once used to help Yuzuki when she was running low on power as well. This is a Power Pack and it is worn like a backpack. The mechanism will convert surrounding heat into power that can be used for a persocom. This is will work on my human sized persocom and it requires that the persocom connect their "S. cable" to the jack of the power pack." Minoru explained. "S. cable?" Hideki asked. "It is located in the same ears that the Audio and Video cables are found. This is a gray cable that has a connector that will connect to specific devices. The "S" means "Special" cable." Minoru explained further. Hideki turned to Chii and opened her left ear shell and he saw the audio and video cables. Underneath was a hidden cable which was the gray cable Minoru just mentioned. "Ah is this it?" Hideki pointed out. "Yes that is the cable. It is the same length as the audio and video cables which are good for this particular device. Whenever you have the time, you can stop by here to pick up the power pack. I'll be here most of the day so try to come before the evening." Minoru said. "Ok I'm coming over now." Hideki replied. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Minoru offered. "When I get there, I'll tell you about this man in black further. Maybe you can help identify him." Hideki said. "I'll do my best when you tell me more about him. I will see you soon Hideki." Minoru said turning off his side of the video conference.

Shinbo went over to Sumomo to disconnect the audio and video cables from the monitor. "Well I'm going over to see Minoru. Can you guys watch Chii for me?" Hideki requested. "Of course we will Hideki. We'll give you a buzz if Chii is able to move." Shinbo said confidently. "Thanks Shinbo. Chitose are you going to be all right here?" Hideki said. "I'll be fine Hideki. I'm worried about Chii's health just as much as you. After all…" Chitose said in mid-sentence. Hideki nods for he knew what Chitose was going to say next. "Ok, I'll be back later" Hideki said as he opened the front door to leave. Hideki marched out the door and headed down the stairs to go see Minoru. When he stepped outside, he noticed that the heat has returned and at about the same intensity as the first day when this happened. Hideki was about to turn around and grab some water before he left when he saw Chitose standing outside the door with a water bottle in her hand. "Ahh thank you! I'm going to need it." Hideki said with a smile. Chitose closed her eyes and smiled back gently for Hideki was being forgetful as usual. Hideki took the water and resumed his journey forward. Chitose and Shinbo both watched as Hideki was on walking out of the apartment area and headed out into the streets. When Hideki was out of sight, Chitose and Shinbo looked back at Chii to see how she was doing. She still felt cold and it looked like she wasn't going to move for a long while until she got some power left in her.

Though the day was hot and muggy for anyone to bear, time was certainly moving. It was around 3 in the afternoon and as Hideki walked the way to Minoru's residence, he saw people everywhere moving slow and many others sitting down at benches or leaning against building walls. The heat was slowing everyone down and no one was active amongst this strong heat. Hideki too felt the effects of the weather beating down on him. He kept drinking the water bottle he brought along with him to keep him cool. Hideki went into an alleyway which was a shortcut to Minoru's place. There he saw several people that were on their bikes resting from the heat. All of them were leaning on a wall and fanning themselves trying to keep cool. When Hideki passed by them, he noticed his bottle of water was empty. He couldn't believe how fast he drank the whole bottle. He threw the empty bottle near a trash pile. When Hideki was far away from the trash pile, he heard sounds behind him. He turned around and saw those three people that were resting over to where Hideki threw the water bottle. They examined if there was any water left and there wasn't. They left it there and walked slowly back to the wall to cool off. Hideki was surprised to see that sight of desperation for water. The heat was indeed that bad.

Minutes later, Hideki arrived at Minoru's residence thanks to the shortcut he took. He rang the bell to let Minoru know he was here. Hideki looked around and wiped sweat from his forehead with his wrist. "Hello?" Minoru said through the command box. "Ah yes, it's Hideki. I'm here to get the power pack for Chii" Hideki replied. "Right on, I'll let you in." Minoru said. Hideki stood patiently waiting for Minoru to open the front gates of his place. _Sigh. _"I wish the heat wasn't so bad. It's as though we left for nothing…" Hideki said out loud. While he was talking to himself, the front gates to Minoru's residence were long open. Hideki turned forward and saw Minoru's actual mansion and there stood Minoru himself with the door halfway open waiting for Hideki. Hideki gave out a nervous laughter and proceeded to walk forward to Minoru. All Minoru could do was have a sweat drop expression as Hideki came up to him. "Ahh I'm sorry, I didn't expect the gates to open so quickly." Hideki tried to explain. "It was about thirty seconds I stood here watching you talk to yourself. Now come on in." Minoru answered. Hideki had a look of shock in his eyes. _Did I really stand there for that long talking to myself! I really have to stop doing that._

Hideki entered Minoru's mansion and much to his surprise, his maid persocoms weren't at the door to greet him like the first time he came here. He took off his shoes and placed them near the doorway and followed Minoru to the living room. Every room in here was huge in itself. Hideki was always amazed at the size of his place and how many persocoms he has. While Hideki was admiring the sights of Minoru's place, Minoru tapped Hideki to get his attention. "Here is the power pack for Chii. Listen carefully to how you operate this. Put this on like a backpack on her. Then here is the opening for the S. cable. Attach the S. Cable from Chii into this jack. The pack will turn on once it receives connection from the persocom. You will need to have Chii standing upright because once the power pack is turned on; it will begin to generate heat for a short time. The backing here will prevent the persocom from getting burned by this process as this is flame-retardant. This whole process is about 5 minutes and after that; the heat will fade. The pack well then be ready to absorb any heat around it and convert it into cooling and power for the persocom. Half of the energy converted is power via S. Cable and the other half will cool the persocom. The backing also doubles as a cooling device for the persocom. Now listen to me here. The power pack will make three beeps signifying that the persocom is restored to full power. Once you hear the beeps or that Chii tells you she's at full power, you must unplug the S. Cable from the pack. The drawback to using this is if its left in the persocom for too long, it will cause a reverse effect to the power pack. It will overheat and begin to drain energy from the persocom. Do you understand Hideki?" Minoru explained. "Ahh yes, I got it. Once I hear the beeps, I remove it." Hideki confirmed. "Right, the time it will take to fully charge the persocom will depend on the persocom, model, and how many programs are installed in the persocom. She should charge fast since she is more than likely in Hibernate mode and the heat is intense, so I estimate about 3 hours or so for Chii to fully charge." Minoru said. "Ok, got it!" Hideki replied. He took the power pack and examined it.

"Now if you can, tell me more about this "man in black" you mentioned several times in our video chat." Minoru requested. Hideki nodded and sat down on a nearby couch with Minoru. Hideki began to talk about the man in black and tried to explain about his appearance.

While Hideki was explaining about the situation with Chii so far, Chitose and Shinbo were still at Hideki's unit watching over Chii. "I hope she's going to be ok. It must be awkward for Hideki to not have Chii with him" Shinbo said. "I wish I could further help Hideki. I've never seen him like this, ever." Chitose added. Chii was still on the bed in the same position. She hadn't shown any signs of waking up and she still felt cold. Shinbo felt a cool breeze enter Hideki's unit and acknowledged it. "Wow that feels nice. I wish the air conditioning was working again." Shinbo commented. Chitose stood up and went outside to get more of that cool breeze. Shinbo kept looking at Chii while holding Sumomo in his hands. "Shinbo...Come out here!" Chitose said in a fluster. Not knowing what made Chitose sound like that, Shinbo went outside with her. Chitose pointed towards the center of the apartment area. Both of them saw someone walking slowly to the center area. This person slowly looked up at Chitose and Shinbo. "Hey! Isn't that the…" Shinbo said in a shock. Chitose widened her eyes as she recalled Hideki's description of the man in black. There he stood…looking up at Chitose and Shinbo. Both of them stood frozen, not knowing what to do as the man stared at them. Chitose began to fear for Hideki…and Chii.

_To Be Continued…_


	9. Chapter 9: A villain rears its ugly head

◊◊ **Chapter 9 – A villain rears its ugly head ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Chii still was helpless since the attack from the man in black. Hideki got Chii back to the apartments and told Chitose about what happened. Hideki also told Shinbo and Minoru what happened through the internet. Now Hideki goes to Minoru's mansion so he can retrieve the power pack which will be needed to help Chii recover. However, while he is still with Chii, our man in black shows up at Hideki's place where Shinbo and Chitose are. The story continues._

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Tension was in the air as Chitose and Shinbo stood motionless as they stared at the man in black. Sumomo was hiding in Shinbo's shirt pocket as she too sensed the fear of this man. The man in black gave a smirk but Shinbo or Chitose couldn't tell. Shinbo tried not to show fear as he felt he should do something to protect Chii since Hideki was not here. "Well…you two must be friends of Hideki. Is that correct?" the man spoke. "So what if we are; who are you!" Shinbo replied. "Oh…you mean Hideki hasn't told you about me? I'm shocked." The man replied back. "He's told us about you but what I'm saying is, who are you and why do you want Chii so much!" Shinbo said. "You sound just like Hideki because he almost said the same thing this morning. That is…before I drained all of Chii's energy. Heh-Heh. I must say that Hideki has himself quite a persocom. Yes, I've never sampled so much energy. So cutting to the chase…this is why I want Chii. That fool Hideki is wasting Chii's potential to be something much more than just a persocom. He even has feelings for it. Can you get any more pathetic than that?" The man in black spoke.

While the man in black spoke, Chitose was becoming angry of what he was saying about Chii. In her mind, Chii is perfect and for a person like this guy to say such things made her very upset. "Ah but let me guess. She's not any regular persocom right? She's a Chobit isn't she? Yes, The rare persocoms that can develop feelings and learn on their own. That's exactly what I want from her. The energy of a Chobit is far greater than any of you can imagine and honestly, you'll never harness it." The man in black said. With every word coming the man's mouth, Chitose grew more upset. "Where is Chii? Tell me right now!" the man in black said angrily. Shinbo and Chitose briefly looked at each other knowing full well that they had to say something clever. Chii was only 15 feet behind them laying on the bed and the man in black about 100 feet or so. "I'll never tell you where Chii is!" Shinbo shouted. Chitose quietly gasped to herself when she heard Shinbo say that. Not knowing what this man was capable of, he was probably able to detect a lie. The man in black smirked while he looked at Shinbo.

"You know…Chii isn't doing too well for a reason. Before I drained her energy, she's been malfunctioning. That owner Hideki...well…Heh-Heh. It's fun to see these humans panic. You see, persocoms can't take extreme heat. Just like humans it kills their system. Chii isn't dead for I made sure of it. She is in hibernate mode naturally. Energy still flows through Chii to keep her vital systems and her OS running. Only the minimum amount is required to keep Chii from completely crashing and losing all of her data. She has no energy at the moment and for that no life. Just imagine all the hard work of teaching Chii this and teaching Chii that will all go away if that energy was to run out. Energy is always depleting and it's just a matter of time until she has zero energy." While the man in black spoke, Chitose began to go to the stairs so she can be near this man. Shinbo wasn't sure if he should follow so he stayed at his spot to guard the door so that Chii was safe.

"While I am talking so much, I may as well reveal a few things. This weather, this extreme heat…is my doing. Since day one, I've been gathering energy from the persocoms in this country by making them malfunction from the heat. Persocoms lose much more energy during heat for it requires so much to cool them down. All that energy isn't just dissipated, it goes to me. I have the ability to absorb that energy." The man in black said. Chitose was on the ground floor with the man in black and she was staring at him with an angry look. She walked slowly toward him. The man looked at Chitose while he was talking. "Oh I think that's enough out of me. I think you guys know too much. Let me just say that if I don't have Chii right now, it will be more suffering of terrible heat and bad weather for you guys. Trust me, tomorrow will be one of the worst days of your life." The man finished. When Chitose got close enough to the man in black, Shinbo yelled from the top of the balcony "Chitose be careful what you are doing!" Chitose didn't hear Shinbo for her attention was on the man in black. He was staring right back at Chitose sensing her anger and watching her every move. "You don't have anything to worry about Shinbo. What can she do to me anyway? Need I say it?" the man in black said directly to Chitose. Knowing what the man meant by that remark, she waived her arm at the man in black in attempt to smack him hard across the face. The man already sensing that was what she was going to do, he quickly grabbed her arm. "Hideki has already done that to me this morning. Last thing I want is for a girl to do it. Understand?" the man said while he got in Chitose's face. The man in black threw Chitose down on the ground away from him. "Chitose!" Shinbo yelled from the top of the balcony. He wanted to jump down to see if Chitose was ok but he couldn't leave the door unprotected.

While this confrontation was getting worse, Hideki was coming around the corner from the streets. He was not aware at all what was going on in the front of the apartments. Hideki had the power pack in his hand and kept observing it to see how this would work on Chii. He strongly hoped that this would work. While he was thinking about Chii, he heard a voice echo "Chitose" out in the streets. Hideki immediately recognized the name from this voice and began to run to the apartments which were up ahead. _Chitose I hope you are ok. What could have happened while I was gone? Chii I hope you are ok!_ Hideki was about to turn the corner of the front entrance of the apartments until he quickly spot the man in black standing right there in the center. He jumped back and hid around the corner to observe this situation. He saw that Shinbo was guarding the door so the man in black wouldn't get to Chii. Meanwhile he saw the man hovering over Chitose who was on her knees holding her arm. _I…don't believe it! How long has he been here! He's hurting my friends now! I won't let him get away with this! _Hideki stopped thinking to himself and madly ran to the man in black to attempt an attack on him. The sounds of Hideki stomping on the ground made the man in black turn around to see Hideki. "Well look who showed up. I was just thinking about you." The man said while smiling. After that last word, Hideki jumped in at the man in black and did a jump kick at him. The man dodged the kick and Hideki landed on the ground and called to Shinbo. "Shinbo catch!" Hideki threw the power pack to Shinbo so it was out of his hands. "I didn't get the chance to retaliate before on the train Hideki but now I WILL!" the man in black yelled as he got up to Hideki kicked him down to the ground. Chitose jumped at the man in black's legs and grasped them tightly trying to trip him down.

Hideki still stunned from the kick he just suffered, the man in black looked at Chitose. "You humans are really something you know!" The man grabbed Chitose by the sides of her face and threw her away from him. Chitose barely moved after that and Shinbo not wanting to see any more of this had jumped down to attack at the man in black. Shinbo tried to land attacks to the man in black but he dodged every single attack. "Enough of this!" the man yelled out. He gave a solid blow to Shinbo's abdomen and he fell to the ground. The man in black looked all around and saw the carnage he left. Hideki, Shinbo, and even Chitose all on the ground stunned. The man in black went over to Hideki and picked him up. "This is your last chance human. You bring Chii here tomorrow at noon. Or else I will kill you. There is no need for you to be alive. I have a bit of mercy in me…so I'm giving you a last chance. You don't do what I say; you are not going to be the only one suffering. Mark my words!" the man in black said to Hideki with an evil stare. The whole time Hideki had been looking at him, he couldn't feel anything in his entire body. The man had Hideki paralyzed while he was holding him. Hideki couldn't move his hands or even feel his heart beating. The man in black threw Hideki back down to the ground and flew up towards the sky. He hovered in mid-air and said "Oh, if you have plans to bring resistance tomorrow, then you should at least know my name. Soulithe. Remember that Hideki." Soulithe said as he flew away.

When Soulithe left, Chii woke up from the brief cool winds that had been flowing through the front door. She sat up and looked around Hideki's room and saw that it was empty. "Chii?" she said waiting for someone to respond. Not hearing anyone reply back, she got off the bed and saw that the door was wide open. She thought to herself that Hideki must have stepped out. Chii went through the door and looked both ways to see if Hideki was nearby. No one was there but an object on the ground. Chii looked at it and picked it up. It was the power pack that Hideki threw to Shinbo. He left it on the ground when he went to attack Soulithe. Chii not sure what this object was, she put it on her head as if it were a helmet. While Chii was playing with the power pack, she heard voices from the ground floor. Chii walked over to the balcony and saw three people lying there almost motionless. Chii took a second to make out who those people were. Almost instantly she recognized Hideki was curled up in pain. "CHII!" she yelled as she flew from the balcony to the ground next to Hideki. Chii was able to recognize pain from others and she held Hideki trying to examine what was wrong with him. "Ch…Chii? You're alive. I'm…glad you…are ok Chii…" Hideki said in a low voice. Chii's eyes widened as Hideki tried to speak.

She looked around and saw the others in pain and not moving. Chii stood up and began to emit a glow of white light. A beam shot straight up into the sky and all around her winds were starting to pick up. The winds slowed down and became gentle. An aura surrounded Hideki, Chitose, and Shinbo as Chii was trying to revive them. Chii looked up in the sky trying to concentrate but her systems were starting to fail on her as she was using up a lot of energy. The solid light beam broke apart at times looking like projectiles of light shooting into the sky as Chii was losing energy and consciousness. Her mouth hung open slightly as she tried to heal as much as she could. "Ch…chiiii…." She spoke in a feint voice. Her eyes closed and she fell backward after losing all of her energy. The glow that surrounded Chii quickly faded. Hideki, Shinbo, and Chitose were revived but not fully. They still felt the physicality of Soulithe on their bodies but they were alive and well. All of them looked around to see if Soulithe was still around. Hideki noticed that Chii was lying on the ground motionless. "Chii!" Hideki yelled as he picked up Chii. Her body felt very warm and she even had a feint glow of the light she emitted. "Chii?" Hideki said as he looked at Chii hoping for her to wake up. Shinbo and Chitose kneeled over hoping Chii was all right. No one saw Chii's energy release she did moments ago. None of them even knew how she got here. "She feels warm. Did she overheat from the weather?" Hideki asked out loud. Chitose put her hand on Chii's forehead. "I think…she did something on her own. I remember that man throwing me on the ground…but after that I can't remember. I believe Chii may have healed us." Chitose answered. Hideki looked at Chitose and then at Chii. "Shinbo where's the power pack I threw to you?" Hideki asked. "Ah it's up there, I'll get it." Shinbo replied as he ran up to retrieve the power pack. "A power pack?" Chitose asked. "Minoru gave it to me, he said it's the best way to get Chii operational until he thought of another way to help her out further." Hideki answered. Shinbo came back with the power pack and handed it to Hideki.

"Thanks now to put this on her. Let's see…" Hideki said as he tried to recall the instructions Minoru gave him. "Put it on like a backpack first. Then the S. Cable…" Hideki said as he opened up Chii's ear shell to retrieve the S. Cable. He snapped on the cable to the power pack and immediately a whirring sound was heard. He remembered that it would begin to get very hot so he sat Chii up. While the mechanism was whirring, Hideki adjusted Chii's hair so it wouldn't get caught on the back of the pack. "He said it will be about five minutes or so until the pack stops warming up. I'm really sorry I got you guys into this! I did not expect him to be here. I didn't even know he knew where I lived." Hideki tried to explain. "It's ok Hideki. You didn't do anything wrong. He came here demanding Chii and we did our best to protect her." Shinbo said to comfort Hideki. "I really fear him Hideki. He needs to be stopped. He is very dangerous." Chitose added. "His name is Soulithe he told me. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to stop him. He can fly and his attacks are very strong. I don't know what I can do to stop him." Hideki said. "Soulithe eh? Well he's definitely not human as he can fly. Plus he kept calling us human. I wonder what he is then." Shinbo questioned. Hideki looked at Chii to see if she was awake or not. "I hate this. I just want to be with Chii and here I have someone that wants to take her away from me. What did she ever do to anyone to deserve this? Chii may have been with me to Osaka but recently I feel she hasn't been "with" me. I hope this device restores her! I want Chii back!" Hideki said as he began to shed a tear.

After some time, the whirring inside the device stopped and Chii opened her eyes. Hideki cautiously felt the power pack to see how hot it was and it felt warm. He looked at Chii and noticed her eyes were open. "Chii!" she said while looking at Hideki. At the same time she said Chii, Hideki also said her name in unison. Both locked in a tight embrace while Shinbo, Chitose, and Sumomo smiled. Hideki held Chii's face with his hands looked at her deeply. "I am so glad that the pack is working and I am glad you are ok." Hideki said. He leaned forward and gave Chii a kiss on the cheek and brushed some of her hair back. Chii stared back at Hideki and smiled and pushed him down in a strong hug. "Oh Chii…I miss that. Let's hope that pack recharges you on the fly so we can be together." Hideki said. "What are we going to do about Soulithe? He said he wanted Chii here by noon tomorrow." Shinbo said. "I don't care about him right now. I have Chii and she's alive. I don't want to think about him." Hideki replied. Everyone stood up and brushed the dirt from their clothes. Hideki had his arm around Chii and they walked back upstairs to his room. Chitose and Shinbo looked around and saw other nearby people looking in their direction since they saw that beam of light that Chii shot earlier. "I wonder what they are looking at." Shinbo said. "I don't know. Probably to see who that man was that attacked us." Chitose replied. Shinbo and Chitose followed Hideki and Chii upstairs to their room as well.

"Well I'm glad you two are ok and that the power pack Minoru gave you is working." Chitose said with a smile. "Yea, but don't take it easy too much Hideki. We have to do something about Soulithe tomorrow." Shinbo added. "I know but right now I just want to be with Chii. We'll talk about this later." Hideki replied. "Ok we will leave you two alone while Chitose and I think of something" Shinbo said. Shinbo and Chitose left Hideki's room and closed the door behind them. "Hideki…is really happy to see Chii" Chii said. "Of course I'm really happy to see you. Eversince that attack, you haven't been around and I did my best to protect you Chii." Hideki responded. "Hideki protect Chii. Chii is very happy." Chii sat down on the edge of the bed with Hideki doing the same thing. She held Hideki's face with her hands and said "Chii…likes Hideki." Chii buried her face into Hideki's chest and held him. Hideki held her back and said softly "Hideki likes Chii too. I don't know what I would do without you Chii. You mean so much to me. I love you Chii!" Hideki said with a soft smile. "Chii loves Hideki very much and Chii knows that Hideki will protect Chii." Chii then put her right hand on Hideki's chin and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. She looked at Hideki after that kiss and her eyelids became heavy as she was feeling an intense happiness building up inside her. Hideki gave Chii a kiss back on the lips and pulled her close to him.

Hideki sighed and leaned back on the wall. Chii looked at him as she saw how exhausted he was. She went over and leaned her head on his shoulder. Chii then copied Hideki's sigh by saying Chii. The two were very happy to see each other ok and in each others arms. The time they spent together in Hideki's room made time fly. It was almost 7PM and Hideki was very tired. Running to the train station so early in the morning, getting in a fight with Soulithe twice now, going to Minoru's mansion and back, and worrying about Chii the whole time definitely wore him out. Hideki was just happy that Chii was in his arms after all that. He laid there almost half asleep in the bed until he heard Chii come out from another room. Chii came out wearing a long shirt so she could get into bed with Hideki. The night wasn't hot and the room wasn't hot either. Chii climbed into bed and Hideki made room for her to get in. Chii climbed on top of Hideki and gave him a hug. She was so happy to be with him that she pretty much hugged him silly. Hideki was also glad that this day was over and that Chii was safe and sound for now. He brushed her hair as the two kissed each other. All of the sudden Chii felt something on Hideki. Hideki gulped and blushed. "Ah...err…" Hideki said while looking off to a side. "Hideki has energy here again!" Chii said as she raised herself up in a push up position and dropped her head down to see Hideki's lower half upside down. "Energy!" Chii said while pointing to Hideki's boxers. "Ahh Chii…you shouldn't point" Hideki saying with a blush while he looked away with a sweat drop expression. That night was a night of relief for Hideki. Things are bound to be worse though…what will happen tomorrow?

_To Be Continued…_


	10. Chapter 10: Right vs Might

◊◊ **Chapter 10 – Right VS Might ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Hideki came back with the power pack but upon returning he met with the man in black. During the showdown, he revealed his name to everyone and his name was Soulithe. He tells Hideki to bring Chii here at noon tomorrow or else he will suffer. Hideki and Chii together again and Chii recovering from the power pack have a peaceful night together. The next morning comes…_

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Hideki and Chii wake up to the sound of birds chirping near the window. It was a long sleep for the two of them and it was a much needed rest as well. _Beep-Beep-Beep. _Hideki turned to Chii and noticed that she was still wearing the power pack that he put on yesterday. "Oh, it must be done charging. I thought Minoru said it would take 3 hours to charge? Well it's done anyway. How do you feel Chii?" "Chii's power supply is at 99 Solar mechanisms are automatically enabled." Chii replied. "That's wonderful news! Now those beeps mean that I need to take it off and disconnect the S. Cable." Hideki said.

Hideki unplugged the S. Cable from the power pack and opened Chii's ear shell so the plug can spring back inside Chii. He then removed the power pack from Chii and placed it on the ground. Hideki then gave Chii a hug. Chii hugged back and closed her eyes. The two hugged each other for a long time not wanting to let go as today was going to be a very tough day for the two of them. "Hideki…will protect Chii?" Chii spoke while her head was resting on his chest. "Yes I will…" Hideki answered softly. _Chii…I don't know how I'm going to be able to defend myself against this guy. He's certainly not human. How am I going to stop him? I can't do it alone. I need help with this one Chii. _Hideki hugged Chii one last time so the feeling wouldn't fade.

Deep down Hideki was nervous and he did not know how he was going to handle this. Hideki then held Chii's chin with his hand and kissed her on the lips for a while. Chii closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Hideki's shoulder. The feeling of love and fear was mixed in the air in Hideki's room. Now Hideki had to experience a situation he rarely ever dealt with, fighting. He always avoided a fight whenever possible but now…he can't run away.

Hideki got up from the bed and stretched his arms out so he could get ready for the day. "Boy this is some way to begin my day. Waking up feeling refreshed only to end up being in a fight later today." Hideki said out loud. He then went over to his dresser to change clothes. Chii got out of bed and went over to Hideki to do the same thing. Chii took off her long shirt that she wore to sleep last night and put on a dress that she found on the middle shelf. "You know…it's always going to be hot isn't it Chii?" Hideki said with a look of frustration in his eyes. Chii was halfway in the process of putting on the dress she found. "I mean I may as well not wear pants since I'm going to more than likely roast in them." Hideki said while looking at Chii.

Before saying anything else, he began to notice Chii in this black dress she just put on. Hideki never seeing Chii in black before made him think for a bit. "What do you think about that one Chii?" Hideki asked. Chii looked down at her dress to see how it looked on her. "Chii!" she said with a smile. "Ha, I think it looks great on you too. I don't know though if black is the color you want to wear when it's going to be another scorcher out there." Hideki replied. "Chii…feels cool in this dress. Chii feels…different in this dress." She answered. "Different? How so?" Hideki asked. Chii looked down at the ground with her mouth open a little trying to search for an answer to give to Hideki.

Before Hideki could get an answer out of Chii, the two heard knocking at the front door. "Ah, who is it?" Hideki said loud. "It's Soulithe and I've come to get Chii. Open up Hideki!" the voice from outside said. Hideki walked to the door already recognizing the voice of this person and opened the door. Hideki stared with an un-amused look on his face. "You do poor voice acting Shinbo! That wasn't even funny. You know how nervous I am about this situation." Hideki said. "I know you are, just trying to loosen you up." Shinbo replied. "Loosen up! Loosen Up!" Sumomo repeated. "Yea thanks." Hideki said. "Anyway I brought some company for you." Shinbo said as he stepped aside. Shinbo had brought along not just Chitose but Minoru and Takashi as well. "Ahh you brought them along too?" Hideki said in surprise. "Of course, we are here to comfort you and stick alongside with you until the end." Shinbo said cheerfully. "Thanks Shinbo! Come on in everyone." Hideki said. Everyone was inside Hideki's place and they all got comfortable.

"Well I wasn't expecting all of you to be here at once. I really appreciate this everyone." Hideki said with a smile. "Hey we gotta stick together on this one. If this affects Chii, then this affects all of us. You won't go through with this alone." Shinbo said. "We know Chii means a lot to you, so we are here to do the best we can." Takashi added. "Hideki, Shinbo has informed me about this person's name. Soulithe is it?" Minoru mentioned. "Yes that's right." Hideki replied. "I did some research last night about that name. Something struck me as familiar when I heard that name. On the BBS, several people said that was the name of a one-of-a-kind persocom whose creator had a determination to control all persocoms." Minoru explained. Everyone turned their attention to Minoru as he began to explain about this person.

"I don't have all the information about this person but HE is certainly a persocom." Minoru added. "A persocom like Chii is?" Hideki asked. "Yes and no. He is not a Chobit, he is a regular persocom. However, he supposedly has two large programs running in him that can "emulate" a Chobit. This means that the way he acts seem to be independent and self-thought. He is actually emulating what a Chobit would do. The other program is to feed the program with the information to emulate a Chobit. You said that he drained all of Chii's energy on the train yesterday morning didn't you?" Minoru asked. "Yes he did." "Soulithe draining the energy from Chii was the process of that program feeding the information to act like a Chobit. Why he is emulating a Chobit I do not know at the moment. I am expected to get several posts in a topic I made about this subject." Minoru explained.

"So he's a persocom but he's trying to emulate a Chobit?" Hideki replied. Minoru nodded. "I personally believe he is trying to emulate a Chobit because Chobits possess astronomical power than a regular persocom. The act of draining energy was one of the many things a Chobit can do. Chobits are legendary and Soulithe being a persocom was able to detect that in Chii. This is probably the main reason why he wants her so much. He is using the powers that are gifted to him for wrong." Minoru explained further. "How are we going to be able to stop him though? If he is this powerful then there must be something we can do." Takashi said. "I'm afraid we are powerless against Soulithe. There is nothing we can do. Really, only Chii is able to do something." Minoru answered. "How can you say that? There has to be something I can do before he shows up!" Hideki said. "Hideki, it's not about you. It's Chii that he wants and he wants to be able to fully emulate a Chobit. Like I said, I'm not able to…" Minoru stopped in mid-sentence.

Everyone in the room heard the front door make a thud. Hideki looked at the door trying to figure out what made that sound. Chii walked over to Hideki for safety. "What was that!" Shinbo said. "Something is out there…" Chitose added. Hideki turned around and looked at his clock on the nightstand. There it displayed "12:00PM" and Hideki felt butterflies in his stomach upon seeing that. Hideki looked at Chii and then back at the clock as to get Chii's attention to the clock. Chii saw the clock and then looked down at Hideki. Hideki hugged Chii and kissed her on the forehead to assure her that she will be all right. "Hideki be careful. Remember that we are with you on this!" Shinbo said trying to bring Hideki's confidence up. Hideki smiled back and walked to the front door to open it.

Hideki walked up to the balcony with the others following behind looking down to the ground. Everyone was looking at Soulithe and he was looking right back at them as well. "Well Hideki? What are you going to do?" Soulithe yelled out to him. "Remember Hideki, I have the power to let you live…or to make you suffer along with everybody else. It's your choice." Soulithe added. Hideki stood there trying hard to think of something he can do to defeat Soulithe. Minoru got closer to the balcony so he could observe Soulithe from afar. "Chii…let's go" Hideki whispered. Chii held onto to Hideki and both of them flew slowly down to the ground with Soulithe. The scene was quiet and the only sounds being heard here were the wind occasionally howling and several birds chirping. Hideki took a deep breath and held onto Chii who was holding onto him tight and was behind him.

"Take me instead!" Hideki yelled. Soulithe stood there staring at Hideki after hearing what he just said. Soulithe laughed hardy and put his hand on his head. "Oh Hideki…you make me laugh. What a quality you have. And might I ask how that benefits you in any way? I said I wanted Chii...you're just a human. I don't need you for anything. So don't go for the heroic acts Hideki, it doesn't suit you." Soulithe said with the same smirk he's been making. "Then you can't have Chii Soulithe. She's done nothing to you to deserve everything you have been doing to us!" Hideki said angrily. "It's not that she's done anything to me Hideki. I'm not going to reveal fully why I need her." Soulithe replied. "I know why you need her so much!" Hideki answered with a smirk of his own. "You want to emulate being a Chobit don't you? When you drained Chii's energy yesterday on the train, you tried to get information from her didn't you?" Hideki yelled out. Soulithe stood there stunned to as what Hideki was saying. "I know why you need Chii and that's why I'm not going to let you have her." Hideki finished. "Well…I'm surprised Hideki. How did you find out that information Hideki?" Soulithe asked with a cold stare.

"I told him that." Minoru said out loud. Soulithe focused his attention to Minoru up on the balcony. "I knew your name was familiar so I asked several other persocom experts about you. From what I've gathered, you are indeed bad news. All of this just so you can run in full emulation of a Chobit and to use those powers for destruction?" Minoru added. Minoru's expression hardly changed whenever he spoke and for that reason, it bothered Soulithe. "So…you got yourself a persocom expert eh? I knew a human like you wouldn't figure something out like that all on your own." Soulithe said. Hideki clenched his fists and gritted his teeth after what Soulithe said.

"Well expert, you are half right. Since you are such a know-it-all, why don't you figure out the other half you are wrong about. Now enough wasting time…hand over Chii now!" Soulithe said focusing his attention to Hideki. "I'll never let you have her!" Hideki said why spreading his arms out to further protect Chii. "Hideki. Everyone is going to suffer horribly because of your decision. Your friends will receive a personal vendetta from me. Like I said, you don't need to be here!" Soulithe said.

Soulithe held out his hand and a glow of green light began to emit. The energy and intensity of this light was growing and Soulithe aimed his hand toward Hideki. He then clasped his hand releasing the energy beam so it head for Hideki. Chii pushed Hideki out of the way and the blast ends up hitting the wall to the apartment causing major damage to it. Hideki quickly stood up to prepare for Soulithe. Soulithe was walking towards Chii while she was staring at him back. Chii slowly began to tense up her shoulders and before Soulithe got too close, she let out a glow of white light similar to what she did before to heal Hideki. Only this time this light was protecting Chii and it caused her to float. Soulithe stood back shielding his eyes from the intense light Chii was giving off. Chii then threw her head back which caused the light to scatter into beams that went straight toward Soulithe. He tried to fly out of there before the beams hit but they were way too fast for him to dodge. Soulithe took damage from the light beams and the impact of them sent Soulithe up in the air as the other beams flew in to crash on him. Chii still looked up in the sky with her eyes glowing white and her long hair scattered about floating as if she were in space. Hideki was shielding his eyes from the light but he saw what Chii was doing to Soulithe.

Chii's light began to fade and her eyes returned to normal. Chii flew over to Hideki and said "do…not…harm…Hideki." Hideki looked at Chii and she had an expression he'd never seen before on Chii. Her eyebrows were lowered as she looked at Soulithe with an angry face. Soulithe hovered high above the ground looking down at Hideki and Chii. "That's Impressive Chii. And thank you for the new information regarding some of your energy attacks. Concussive beams of light…now I can do that. I hope you figured out the other half by now expert." Soulithe yelled out. Hideki and Chii held each other as they looked up at Soulithe. "This is not over yet Hideki. Far FAR from it!" Soulithe said with anger as he teleported out.

Hideki gave out a sigh of relief as he continued to hold Chii. "Chii…are you ok?" Hideki asked. "Chii…is ok" she replied. "I'm glad! We're ok everyone!" Hideki shouted out to the others on the balcony. Shinbo, Chitose, Takashi, and Minoru all went down the stairs to see Hideki and Chii. "I'm glad you guys are ok!" Chitose said first. "Yea but what was that she did?" Takashi added. "Chii is able to produce energy like that and turn it into an attack. It's a defense mechanism most persocoms have." Minoru answered. "He said he'll be back though. What should we do when he does return?" Hideki asked out loud. "Knowing full well that we'd run into him, I brought along a small persocom of mine.

This persocom was recording this entire scene the whole time. I've already sent everything we've seen Soulithe do to my computer. Now I will post this on the BBS for further information. I'll cut some parts of it and make separate pictures of it in Photoshop." Minoru said. "Ahh that's awesome Minoru, I didn't know you brought along a persocom with you." Hideki said. "I kept it hidden until I actually saw him" Minoru replied. Everyone was happy for Minoru for recording the fight scene. "I'm going to go do more research on Soulithe. I'll report any new finding I get to you Hideki ok?" Minoru said. "Sure thing, I'll have Chii remind me if you send it through an email." Hideki replied back. "I'll try to make it a video conference instead but look out for emails anyway." Minoru said. With that Minoru left the area and headed back to his mansion.

"What do we do now?" Shinbo asked out loud. "We shouldn't let Soulithe run our lives. We must try to live our own lives. The heat isn't bad at all at the moment so those attacks must have stopped Soulithe from changing the weather. From here on we must stay strong." Takashi said strongly. Everyone nodded and agreed with what Takashi said. "If the weather isn't so bad tomorrow or it's not as bad as it has been, then school will resume tomorrow. So you two better be present!" Takashi said to Hideki and Shinbo. "Yes ma'am!" both of them said while saluting. The others laughed at what Hideki and Shinbo did.

"Well…I'm going to have to call someone about that wall of the apartment. Fortunately no one lives in those units." Chitose said as she looked at the wall that Soulithe damaged earlier. Everyone looks at the wall and made a face showing how bad it was. There were people that came out of their units to see what that loud explosion was and they too were gawking at the wall. "I don't want to think about this. Hey you up for something since there is no school today?" Shinbo asked Takashi. "Sure I have time to kill." Takashi replied. "Well see ya everyone, you too Hideki!" Shinbo said. Shinbo and Takashi left to go do something together. Hideki, Chii and Chitose were left standing outside where Soulithe was. "Please, if there's anything I can do to help you fix that wall then let me know." Hideki offered to Chitose. "Thank you Hideki. I will let you know." Chitose replied back.

Chitose walked back to the apartments to see what she can do about the wall. Hideki and Chii looked each other and smiled. "Come on Chii, let's go walk around for a while. I don't want to be here myself; I'd rather be with you." Hideki said. "CHII!" she squealed as she hugged Hideki tightly. Hideki felt a little confident as he now knew more about Soulithe. However he was still bothered by the things he said that felt personal. Moreover, he still wished he could be able to do something to defeat Soulithe. At least today would be a nice day to be out.

_To Be Continued…_


	11. Chapter 11: A rage like no other

◊◊ **Chapter 11 – A rage like no other ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Hideki and Chii were prepared to face with Soulithe. Hideki deep down inside feared having to confront Soulithe but he had to. Shinbo brought Chitose, Takashi, and Minoru along to help comfort Hideki before Soulithe showed up. Minoru explained about Soulithe and the possible reasons for him wanting Chii so much. He gave Hideki new information regarding Soulithe that he should remember. The hour came and Soulithe appeared ready for Hideki's decision. Hideki resisted and a battle took place involving Chii. Chii stopped the battle by overpowering Soulithe. He may have disappeared but he said he'd return…_

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Hideki and Chii went to the bookstore that Hideki always went to for his study material. Hideki tried hard to get rid of the events that happened today so he can focus on school work. Chii was looking at books in the Manga section and she was skimming through them to pick which one to read. Hideki found books related to math since those were his classes tomorrow. He picked one that had a bunch of tutorials in them and proceeded to find Chii. "Ah Chii, I found what I need are you ready?" Hideki asked.

Chii was reading a romance manga that she picked up earlier. She looked at Hideki and said "Chii?" Hideki looked at the book and saw it was about an angel and a human who fell in love. Chii looked interested in the book so he thought about how much money he had. "Do you want this book Chii?" Hideki asked. Chii smiled wide after Hideki asked her about the book. "Ok I'll get this for you" Hideki said with a smile. "Chii!" she said while giving Hideki a big hug.

Hideki and Chii went up front to pay for the books they brought. While Hideki was reaching for his wallet, he accidentally jerked his elbow behind him and landed on something soft. Hideki turned around and saw that his elbow was in between a girl's breasts. He then looked at this girl's face and saw that it was Yumi who had smile on with her eyes closed. "Gahhhhh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you behind me!" Hideki yelled while trying to explain himself. "It's ok Hideki, I know you didn't mean to…or did you?" Yumi replied with a tease. "No I was trying to get my wallet…" Hideki said while getting his wallet out of his pocket.

"So what are you up to?" Yumi asked. "Getting ready for classes tomorrow since the heat has calmed down some. Chii is here with me as well." Hideki replied. "Ahh so she is. How are you two doing?" Yumi asked. "We are doing well. We got back from Osaka so we could avoid the heat. I stayed at a friend's house in Osaka until then." Hideki answered. "I see, well its good you got out when you did. Well I hope to see you soon then." Yumi said. "Yes, talk to you later." Hideki answered.

Hideki and Chii left the bookstore and Hideki looked back at Yumi who was now at the counter. _Hrmm, she's still so big. High school students nowadays... _Hideki went off thinking about Yumi's breasts. "Ah…anyway, let's get going Chii" Hideki said to get himself out of his perverted thinking. Hideki and Chii walked back home so Hideki could do his studies. Chii was reading the manga she wanted while they were walking.

"How is that book Chii?" Hideki asked. "Chii!" she said while closing her eyes and giving a smile. "I'm glad you like it Chii." Hideki said with a smile of his own. Hideki then took a peek at one of the books he brought for himself. "Well…I can do it!" Hideki said out loud. Determined to make an effort in his studies he began to read some of the book.

Hideki and Chii arrive back at the apartment and both of them notice that big hole in the wall. Chitose had called someone to determine the severity of the damage and how much it would cost. Hideki passed by looking at Chitose to see what was going on. Chitose looked back at Hideki and saw that he was making a gesture saying if she needed some help. She shook her head gently as help wasn't needed at the moment. Hideki understood her gesture back and continued to go up the stairs with Chii. Hideki reached for his keys and opened the door.

Chii ran to the bed and jumped on the bed so she could read her manga. She lied on her stomach and continued to read while Hideki put his bag nearby on the ground and went to the bathroom. Chii was very fascinated by this manga that she didn't pay attention to anything else around her.

Some time had passed by and Hideki was looking over some problems in one of the books he brought. Chii continued to read her manga book and was actually nearing the middle of the book. A knock on the front door echoed throughout the room. Hideki stood up to answer the door. "Who is it?" "It's Chitose" she replied. "Ahh come in" Hideki said while opening the door. Chitose walked inside and saw books everywhere on the ground.

"Oh…you look busy with your studies. I won't keep you. I just wanted to give you this. Hope it helps keep your energy up." Chitose said as she handed Hideki a small box of food. "You made us a lunch? That was very nice of you; I hope you didn't have to go through a lot of trouble to make this." Hideki said as he looked through the box to see what she made. "It's no trouble at all; I don't think you had the chance to eat anything ever since Soulithe appeared." Chitose said. "Yea thanks, let me just wash my hands. Hideki went into the bathroom to freshen up before he took a break and had some lunch.

"Oh, what are you reading there Chii?" Chitose asked. Chii showed the front cover of the manga to Chitose. It was titled "Love in High Places". "You're reading mangas now huh? They are good to read." Chitose said. While Chitose was talking, another knock was heard on the front door. "Do you want me to answer that?" Chitose yelled to Hideki who was in the other room. "Yes, please." Hideki replied. Chitose stood up and went to the door. "Who is it?" Chitose asked. "It's Shinbo, open up" the voice said. Chitose opened the door and to her surprise it wasn't Shinbo.

It was Soulithe who had memorized Shinbo's voice and mimicked his voice. Chitose screamed as Soulithe grabbed hold of her and went over to the edge of the balcony. Hideki ran out of the room as fast as he could to find out why Chitose screamed. Chii stood behind Hideki dropping the book she was reading on the ground. "SOULITHE LET HER GO!" Hideki shouted as he tried to run toward him. "Oh…gladly Hideki." Soulithe replied. He threw Chitose over the balcony as he flew up in the air to watch the whole thing. "CHITOSE!" Hideki yelled as he ran to the balcony trying to save her. He got there too late as Chitose landed hard on the ground. A thud was heard in the area and Soulithe smiled when he saw Chitose unable to move. "That's victim one Hideki!" Soulithe said as he flew away from the scene.

"NOO Chitose!" Hideki yelled as he ran downstairs quickly. Chitose laid there motionless and Hideki hovered over her to see any visible damages on her. Chii was looking at Chitose with sadness in her eyes. Hideki didn't want to touch her as he feared it would further injure her. "DAMN YOU SOULITHE!" Hideki yelled while looking up at the sky. Hideki felt terrible for having Chitose answer the door if he known it was Soulithe. He shed a tear while looking at Chitose's face. "Chii…call an ambulance would you. She needs to be taken care of immediately!" Hideki strongly requested. Chii then began to send a signal over the air to the nearest hospital station.

Some time flew as a crew of doctors put Chitose on a stretcher and put her in the back of an ambulance. Neighbors nearby watched as they saw Chitose get put in the ambulance. Some of them even cried for they knew her personally. Hideki and Chii were saddened the most. While the doctors proceeded to put Chitose in the ambulance, Hideki went to the back window to see her one last time.

Chitose hadn't changed expression at all since she landed on the ground. Shinbo and Takashi came back from a day of going out and they saw the ambulance. They saw Hideki and Chii so they ran over to them to ask what was going on. "What happened here Hideki! Who's in the ambulance?" Shinbo asked in a fluster. "Chitose is in there…Soulithe came a while ago and threw her over the balcony." Hideki said while looking at the ground. Shinbo and Takashi were in shock from what Hideki just said. Shinbo, Takashi, Hideki, and Chii all stood there as they watched the ambulance drive off with Chitose in the vehicle headed to the nearest hospital.

Hideki was depressed so he went back upstairs to his unit to rest. The others followed behind him to comfort him. _I have suffered so much these past few days now I have to witness the death of someone close to me? I don't feel like I've "lived" these past few days…life has been so depressing ever since I met Soulithe. I really want him defeated…no I want to defeat him. He has caused me so much pain that I can't move on until he is defeated. All of my friends are my best friends and Chii, I love her. It would be very hard for me to live without her. Protecting Chii has been the highest priority for me and I can't help but feel that I should have watched Chitose closer._

Hideki thought a lot to himself as he rested his head down Chii's lap. Chii trying to comfort Hideki as much as she could while Shinbo and Takashi did their best as well. "I hope Chitose isn't dead. I hope those doctors say that she is all right." Shinbo said out loud. Hideki wished the same things to himself but he didn't acknowledge Shinbo.

"I need to be left alone you guys. I'll see you in school tomorrow Shinbo" Hideki requested. "Ok…try to take it easy. I'll meet you at the front entrance tomorrow." Shinbo said as he headed to the front door with Takashi. "Oh Hideki? I'll understand if you don't want to come to school tomorrow." Takashi said while looking at Hideki. "Thanks…" Hideki said softly. Shinbo and Takashi left closing the door behind them. Hideki was mixed in anger and depression that he didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't concentrate with his studies now that this had to happen.

It was starting to get dark out anyway so he thought to himself that he should try to get some sleep. Hideki crawled in the bed trying to sleep the night away. Chii got in the bed with Hideki and wrapped her arms around Hideki's chest. She buried her face on Hideki's back as she could easily the emotions running through Hideki's mind. "Chii?" Hideki said as he turned to face Chii. He brushed some of her hair back and placed his hand on her chin. Hideki leaned in and gave Chii a soft kiss on the lips and then pulled her in close. He then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Chii with a smile on her face doing the same thing. She felt that she made Hideki happy, or at least cheered him up some. Hideki thought to himself that this was going to be a long night.

The next morning arrives and Hideki's alarm clock was buzzing loud. He woke up in a frenzy from the surprise of the alarm clock. He banged on the clock with his fist and it shut off. He looked at the clock and it read 12:00PM. "I have to get ready for class." Hideki said. He jumped over Chii and landed on the ground and ran to his dresser to put on change clothes for school. Chii woke up after hearing Hideki land on the ground. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ah sorry about that Chii I…" Hideki stopped in mid-sentence as he began to notice what Chii was wearing.

She wore a nightie that she one time got when Hideki sent her out to buy lingerie for herself. This was long after the panty shopping moment. Hideki blushed as he remembered what Chii brought home that day. "I remember that big bag of lingerie you got. I don't see you wear that very often though so I almost forgot that you had it. That looks very…err…"nice" on you" Hideki said while blushing and looking off to the side. Hideki didn't want to say another word to her though that was the word that best described how she looked. "Chii is sexy!" she blurted out loud with a smile.

"Ah…where did you learn that word Chii!" Hideki said in great surprise as that was the word he didn't want to say. Chii bent over and reached underneath Hideki's bed and pulled out a magazine. "Hideki's yummies." Chii said as she pointed to the lingerie that she brought. On the top right corner it said "Sexy!" "Well…that lingerie is yummy in a way…UH I mean!" Hideki said suddenly while covering his mouth.

"I…have to go to school. I'll be back later Chii. In the meantime, don't let anyone in here ok? I have the keys to the place so only I will get in." Hideki explained. Chii nodded as she understood what Hideki said. Hideki left the unit leaving Chii inside and then he locked the door behind him. He didn't want to take any chances if Soulithe should return. This way Chii won't answer the door for no one.

Hideki ran down the stairs and out into the area where the ambulance was. He looked behind him seeing the hole in the wall was covered in a big sheet of paper. He thought to himself that work must be beginning so they can repair it. Hideki ran out into the streets so he can head for the train station. He pulled out a piece of the sandwich that Chitose made for him yesterday. While eating it, Hideki could not help but feel sadness as he ate the sandwich.

Hideki arrives at the train station and goes inside to find a seat. He sits down and reaches in his bag to find one of his books he brought yesterday. _It feels weird not having Chii with me today…but I can't have her with me at school. I need her to be home where she will be safe. As much as I am worried about her, Takashi is right. I must try to live my life. It's very hard to do so…but I can't keep living in fear like this._ Hideki stopped thinking to himself and began to look over some problems in his book for class.

After a while, the train stops at a large district and Hideki gets off the bus. The usual everyday crowd was entering and exiting the train as Hideki tried to get out of there alive. Dodging and moving out the way of people is something Hideki has grown accustomed to. Hideki ran down the street where it led to his school. He crossed the street and there he saw Shinbo standing there waiting for Hideki.

"Hey Shinbo" Hideki said while panting hard. "Hey, did you run all the way down here?" Shinbo asked while observing how out of breath Hideki was. "Took…the train…whew. Just…didn't…want to be…late" Hideki said. "Wow, you're beat. Hope you have some energy left to concentrate in class today." Shinbo said. "Well let's go." Hideki said while lifting himself up.

Hideki and Shinbo arrive in Takashi's class with a few minutes to spare before class started. They sat in the back next to the window like they always do. Takashi walks over to where Hideki and Shinbo were sitting. "Glad you can make it Hideki." Takashi says quietly to Hideki. She smiles and rests her hand on Hideki's shoulder before she went back up to the front. "Hello to you too." Shinbo said sarcastically. Takashi turned around and stuck her tongue out at Shinbo in a tease.

"Ok everyone in your seats! Glad we could all make it to class today as the weather has been very favorable for us lately…" Takashi said as she spoke to the whole class. Hideki was looking out of the window worrying about Chii's safety. _It must feel weird to have been through so much with us and yet be able to teach a class as if nothing happened._ Hideki thought to himself. He admired Takashi's will to move forward despite rough times. It was something that Hideki was not used to. "Hey did you hear from Chitose yet?" Shinbo asked quietly. "No not yet" Hideki replied while still looking out the window. He began to think about Chitose and he hoped that she was alive.

While class was in session, everyone was writing down entries from the blackboard. Hideki eventually took his mind off of the bad events and focused on schoolwork, as he wanted. It was a mostly cloudy day and occasionally the clouds covered the sun providing shade temporarily. A cloud covered the sun and it appeared really dark outside. The whole class looked out the window and noticed how dark it appeared on the buildings outside.

Takashi went over to the window and observed the clouds. "Looks kinda creepy out there don't it?" Takashi said. As she was about to walk back to the front of the class, the whole window crashed. Something flew through the window and caused the glass to scatter all the way to the other side of the classroom. All the students screamed and covered themselves from the flying glass. Some of the students already got cuts from the glass before they could dodge it in time.

There stood Soulithe at the edge of the window with bits of glass on his coat and clothing. He lifted his hat and even brushed some of the glass from his hair onto Hideki. Soulithe slowly turned his body to Takashi and smiled. "NO!" Hideki jumped quickly to Soulithe knowing full well what he was thinking. Hideki clasped at Soulithe's feet while Shinbo quickly ran to Takashi. "Shinbo get Takashi out of here!" Hideki yelled in fear. Shinbo did just that and Takashi quickly followed Shinbo out of the class.

"Hideki. She was my next victim. How could you?" Soulithe said while looking down at Hideki. "You are pure evil!" Hideki said as he quickly stood up to attack Soulithe. "Be careful Hideki" Soulithe said while dodging his attack. Hideki was standing near the window. He turned around and saw Soulithe quickly rush in to push him out the window. Hideki rolled away from the window out of adrenaline to avoid Soulithe. Soulithe ended up hovering outside since Hideki got out the way just in time.

All of the students were leaning on the other side of the class in fear of this man. "That was supposed to be victim number two Hideki. I wonder…I wonder how Chii is doing. I hope she's…safe." Soulithe said as he flew away. Hideki's eyes widened as he felt a terrible sting in his stomach. _He…HE BETTER NOT! CHII I'M COMING! _Hideki feared that Soulithe was on his way to the apartments since Chii wasn't with him. Before he left the class he told one of the students to call the nurse to tend to the ones that suffered cuts from the shattered glass. The student leaves the class and Hideki follows behind.

Hideki leaves the school property and runs like mad back home before Soulithe gets there. _Soulithe, if you harm Chii…I will never forgive you. I will stop you myself if I have to. Chii, don't answer the door for anyone! I'm coming Chii! _Thoughts raced through Hideki's head in fear of what Soulithe could do to Chii. _I never felt so scared in all of his life. Chii means a lot to me and I knew I had a funny feeling that something bad was going to happen. I didn't want to leave Chii alone at home, but I was trying to move on. This is proving to be hard as well since Soulithe keeps showing up. With Chii all alone, that was the perfect opportunity for Soulithe to capture Chii. _Hideki thought to himself.

Eventually, Hideki made it back to the apartments. Before he went any further, Hideki slowly walked up to the center of the front area. He looked around for any sounds or any signs of Soulithe. All he heard was the wind occasionally hitting the big sheet of paper that was covering the hole on the wall where Soulithe shot yesterday. He didn't hear Chii yelling or anyone else for that matter. Hideki proceeded to go up the stairs cautiously. He reached for the keys in his pocket as he walked up to his front door. He listened out for any sounds in his unit. He heard nothing and he opened the door quickly.

There he saw Chii lying on the bed still reading her manga that she got yesterday. She looked up at Hideki and got up from the bed to greet him. "Welcome home Hideki!" Chii said as she hugged him. "Th…thanks Chii. Did anyone come in here Chii?" Hideki asked in suspicion. "Only Hideki came home today." Chii replied. "So…Soulithe didn't come here at all today?" Hideki said while looking around the room. "Soulithe never came. Only Hideki came through that door today." Chii replied. Hideki let out a big sigh of relief. _I wonder why he said all that then. Here he could have taken Chii while I was school. Why didn't he?_

"Chii, Soulithe attacked my class today. He was almost going to do the same thing he did to Chitose to Takashi. I stopped him from going to Takashi and I told Shinbo to get Takashi out of the classroom. I saved Takashi Chii." Hideki said proudly. "Chii is happy for Hideki. Chii is happy that Hideki is home in one piece." She answered with a smile. Hideki sat on the bed taking a moment of what he just said. "I saved her. If I hadn't stopped Soulithe, he would have thrown her out the window. He said that she was the second victim." Hideki said out loud to himself.

Hideki was happy that he was able to help someone in all of this mess. He's been so loyal to Chii that she was all he thought about. Hideki felt proud of himself. "Hideki is a very good person. Hideki protects others as well. Fighting should not be an answer." Chii said. "You are right Chii, but if I don't fight then Soulithe will keep appearing at random times. Just so he can capture you. I don't know how else I should solve this Chii. Defeating him sounds like the answer to me." Hideki answered.

While Hideki spoke, Chii looked around the room. "Hideki has a call from Mr. Kokubunji who is requesting a video conference." Chii relayed. "Ah, it's Minoru. He must have some new information about Soulithe. Hold on." Hideki said as he went to close the front door. He then went over to Chii and connected her audio and video cables to his TV monitor so he can initiate a video conference. Hideki turned on the TV and waited for Minoru. The screen flashed and Minoru appeared on screen.

"Ah, Minoru!" Hideki said cheerfully as he was happy to see him. "Good afternoon Hideki. Like I promised, I said I'd conference with you when I have more information regarding Soulithe. Well I have the information to Soulithe's whereabouts are. In fact, this same area is also where you will find his creator. There is a small island east of Japan that has a strange looking tower on it. Police have blocked nearby shores and all neighboring areas of Japan because of this structure. I was not able to find out about Soulithe's creator or the name, but he is the real enemy from what I have read on the BBS." Minoru explained.

"A tower huh? How did it get there?" Hideki asked. "I do not know how it got there, however the tower does seem to have a connection with all the malfunctioning persocoms in that area. Some reports have shown that this tower emits an energy draining radius that even persocoms off the coast of Japan feel its effects. We do not know what's inside the tower other than Soulithe and his creator. That's all the information I can give you Hideki." Minoru finished.

"So I should go in the tower to defeat this creator?" Hideki asked. "Hideki, I know how much Chii means to you and how much you have suffered these past few days. However, you should get "defeating" out of your mind. First off you are a human and you don't know who you could be up against. Who's to say that Soulithe's creator isn't a persocom that is more powerful than he is?

You need to think of other ways to solve this than thinking that fighting with your fists is going to be the answer. I advise you take Chii along just in case. Her being a Chobit might repel against the tower's energy draining barrier." Minoru suggested. Hideki sat there looking at Minoru through the monitor thinking about what he said.

_I have been thinking like that. I just don't want anyone to harm Chii. I don't know how else I'm supposed to solve this. Soulithe is a big threat not only to Chii's life, but to everyone else as well. I want to stop Soulithe because he threatens everyone, not just Chii and I. _Hideki kept thinking to himself. "Hideki? Are you ok?" Minoru asked. "I want to stop Soulithe because he threatens everyone, not just Chii and I" Hideki said the thoughts in his head out loud. Minoru nods at Hideki's words. "Remember that fighting isn't the answer to everything. Many cases, all it requires is some thinking through. I am confident that you will have the answer to this.

Meanwhile, I can help you out from over here. If you enter that tower, have Chii enable a protective barrier around you so you can ward off any attacks you are dealt with. Just say to Chii "Enable Protective Barrier" and that voice command will trigger her to produce a shield around you. It will enchant you for up to 10 minutes so use it wisely as it will drain some energy from Chii." Minoru explained. "Ok, thank you for everything Minoru!" Hideki said while giving a bow. "It's nothing Hideki, just remember what I said. Fighting isn't always the answer. I believe you will find another way. Good luck Hideki." Minoru ended while shutting down his end of the conference.

Hideki crossed his arms and looked at the ground thinking about what to do. Chii sat beside Hideki and mimicked his action. "Chii…I'm going to do it. I will enter that tower but I won't do it now. Minoru is right, I must think about this. We can't just walk right in right?" Hideki asked. "Hideki…fight!" Chii said while raising her arm up. "That's the thing Chii, I won't fight too much. Though I'm not fully sure what I'm supposed to do if I can't fight." Hideki said out loud.

Hideki stood up and sat on the bed looking at the clock. "I'm going to bed Chii. Maybe I can sleep on it." Hideki said while climbing into bed. Chii went inside the bed with Hideki while he set the alarm clock. "Just so you know Chii, this is what time we are going to wake up ok?" Hideki said. "Chii!" she replied.

The two began to go to sleep while Hideki laid there thinking what he is going to do. He began to plan out everything that is going to happen tomorrow. _Good night Chii. Soon, I will save you too. _

_To Be Continued…_


	12. Final Chapter 12: The proof of a hero

◊◊ **Final Chapter 12 – The proof of a hero ◊◊**

_In the previous chapter, Hideki and Chii returned from the bookstore so Hideki can concentrate on studying. Chitose came by to offer Hideki a snack. While she was there, Soulithe who had impersonated Shinbo came at the door and threw Chitose over the balcony. Soulithe said that she was victim number one and it made Hideki worry. The next day came and Hideki went to school while having Chii stay at home._

_ Shinbo and Hideki were in class with Takashi when Soulithe appeared there as well. Hideki saved the day by preventing him from doing the same thing to Takashi. Hideki rushed home when he had learned about Soulithe possibly going to capture Chii. Instead, Hideki came home and Chii was there. He got the message from Minoru for he had new information. Hideki learned a lot more about Soulithe and even began to form a plan to confront him. So…is this it?_

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Beep-Beep-Beep. The alarm clock woke up Hideki with a loud buzz. He quickly turns off the alarm clock and then gets out of bed. Chii opened her eyes and came out of sleep mode. She sat up while rubbing her eyes as she saw Hideki go to the kitchen and grab another leftover from Chitose's lunch she brought yesterday. Chii got out of bed and shuffled her feet over to Hideki. "Chiiii" she said while tugging on Hideki's pajamas. "Yes Chii, now is the moment of truth. But first, I must eat." Hideki said while turning around to the fridge to find something to drink.

Chii turned around to the alarm clock and saw what time it was. "3'o clock" Chii said softly. "Yup, that's the time all right. That way no one will expect anyone to come through the tower. I know it's quite early but we can do it Chii!" Hideki said while trying to motivate Chii. _This is crazy early yes I know Chii…but its part of my plan. I went to bed early so I can wake up at this time. Please trust me Chii._ Chii smiled and fully came out of sleep mode. Hideki ate his early breakfast while Chii took a peek out the window and saw the full moon out.

Once Hideki finished eating, he got his backpack ready and put a few tools inside it that might come in handy. Chii had changed clothes and put on her usual brown dress. Hideki wore a black shirt and black jeans. He never wore all black, but if he was going to be sneaking in a place at night, black was the best camouflage. "Hmm Chii, your hair might be seen easily. How about you tie it in a ponytail?" Hideki suggested. "Chii?" she asked. "Here I'll do it." Hideki offered. Chii with her long hair down to her ankles would be hard to put into a pony tail. After several attempts, Hideki gave up. Hideki didn't do stuff like that for girls. "Well I tried. Let's leave it like that." Hideki said. "Chii!" she said in agreement. Once everything was sort and packed, Hideki opened the front door and walked out.

Chii stood outside while Hideki locked the door behind him. Hideki put his keys away and adjusted his backpack. Chii then puts on an item that Hideki left behind. "Now where is my…" Hideki said in mid-sentence as he noticed Chii's forehead. "Ha-ha, actually it looks much better on you than me. You can keep that if you want." Hideki said with a smile. "Chii is ready!" she said as she adjusted her black headband so her bangs covered it. "Ok, do you remember the directions that Minoru gave you?" Hideki asked.

"Chii remembers the latitude and longitude of the tower Mr. Kokubunji gave." Chii replied. "Good then let's go!" Hideki said with confidence. Chii held on to Hideki as she lifted him off the ground. Chii began to fly high while holding on to Hideki. Hideki tried his hardest not to look down while Chii flew ahead. "Be careful Chii…don't drop me" Hideki said nervously.

Chii flew at moderate speed over the city. As she kept going she flew higher and higher so she could see the tower in the distance. Chii saw the tower as she changed her eyes so she had night vision. Hideki looked down several times and saw how high they were and how dark everything was below. Many street and car lights were below in an organized fashion. Several tens of buildings still had their lights on as well. Hideki saw some of the trees thanks to the moonlight from above. The moon acted like a spotlight and Hideki looked behind him.

His apartment looked so tiny and he saw the reflection of the moonlight facing his way. Chii was practically flying toward the moon which happened to be east of Japan. From Chii's view, she saw all of what Hideki saw plus the ocean. "Chii!" she said to get Hideki's attention. Hideki looked forward and saw the ocean reflecting the light from the moon. At first it was a bit unnerving to see such a sight at this time of night. For that moment though, he saw Japan differently. "Wow…that's amazing. The ocean is so big and so is the moon. I think I see the tower though." Hideki said.

Chii saw the tower as she was getting closer to it by the minute. Hideki looked down and saw that they were passing the shores of Japan. Hideki raised his eyebrows at the thought that Chii was flying him over the dark moonlit ocean. He did see how far away this island was and thought about how big this energy draining barrier was. Chii sped up some as she was approaching the tower. Hideki and Chii were staring at the tower in front of them and they were amazed at how tall this structure was. "Get a little lower Chii, we are almost here." Hideki said. Chii flew in low and both saw the ground of the island easily.

This tower was black and green with a light glowing inside the center part of the tower. There was a 30 foot radius of the tower that was completely black and on this ground were the remains of several human bones. Several buildings that were far away looked abandoned and were deteriorating. This structure had a radius of destruction that seemed to be expanding.

From a Hideki and Chii's view, several figures were seen carrying persocoms into this tower. The persocoms were not moving and they appeared to be dead while these figures carried them. There were several entrances to this tower but these figures only went in one way. One persocom regained consciousness and struggled to break free from the figure's grasp. That figure held on to this male persocom and suddenly, it stopped moving again. It was as though it got struck by lightning and lost all movement. That persocom then disappeared from sight as it went in the tower.

Another figure appeared that came in from the skies and approached the tower. It looked around to see the work of many figures bringing in persocoms and walked in with them. "Wow…this looks bad. Those are all persocoms. We'd better land somewhere so no one will see us." Hideki requested. Chii nodded her head and flew in lower to a building in front of the tower. When all the figures went in the tower, Chii landed near the devastated building. She let go of Hideki as she kept looking at the entrances the figures went in. All around there were buildings and other structures that clearly stated that this island used to be a city at some point. Hideki looked ahead and saw no one around. "Ok Chii, I think the coast is clear. Let's go!" Hideki said as began to sneak out from the building and into the open. Chii followed behind him closely looking around for others.

Hideki and Chii entered the tower and immediately they notice how dark it is. There were openings from the walls that were almost touching the roof and moonlight shined through. Chii still had her night vision on so she saw the interior of the tower much better. She led Hideki through this large opening where she saw disabled persocoms on the ground. Some of them were even missing limbs from their bodies.

"Oh Chii. Enable Protective Barrier on me" Hideki requested. Chii faced Hideki an enchanted him with a barrier that will protect him for a short time. Chii even added night vision so Hideki can see in this near pitch black environment. Hideki was overwhelmed by the number of persocoms on the ground. He tried his best not to accidentally step on any of them. Hideki did feel chills up his spine as he progressed through the front of this tower.

After several minutes, they came across two staircases. They were now in a hallway where there were energy crystal statues on both ends of the walls. In between the statues were the staircases. Chii decides to take the left staircase for she can sense something up there. Without their night vision, all they would see is the light of the energy crystals. There were no lights in either staircase so Hideki and Chii proceeded cautiously up the stairs.

Hideki still felt warm as this meant his protective barrier was still active. He thought to himself that he would need the barrier. While Chii was slowly going up the stairs, Hideki looked behind him and saw two figures standing there at the bottom of the stairs. They didn't follow Hideki and Chii up the stairs; they just stood there staring at them. Hideki quickly turned around after seeing that. _Thank goodness I have night vision. There is no light around here and somehow those things could see us._

They reach the top of the stairs and they are in open room. Not as dark as there was a skylight where the moonlight came in. A spotlight of the moonlight was in the center of the room and on the walls was persocoms encased in a capsule with a dim backlight that had a feint yellow glow. These persocoms were not moving as well and this freaked Hideki out more. Chii stopped in her tracks when she felt a presence in the room.

A gust of wind swept the room brushing against the hair of Hideki and Chii. Chii got close to Hideki when the wind blew. Hideki pointed out another entrance. Chii walked to the opening that Hideki pointed and there was light in that room. As they approached the light in the room, Hideki felt very tense inside._ Jeez, this is something straight out of a horror movie. Only we are in it! _ Hideki and Chii entered the room with the light.

As they enter the room, they look behind them and see that the moonlight from the hole in the ceiling was gone. Hideki and Chii looked at each other and marched forward. This room was big and the only sources of light were a computer screen and a giant tower like structure. Hideki and Chii see a figure facing a computer screen typing on the keyboard. They were looking at the figure from the right of its face as it kept staring at the monitor.

The tower like structure looked more like a giant mainframe for the computer the more Hideki and Chii kept looking at it. They slowly walked forward in this eerie room. As soon as they got halfway in the room, the figure in front of the keyboard stopped typing. It lifted its head up, stood up, and faced Hideki and Chii. "You two should be rewarded the most courageous beings on the planet." The figure said.

"Do you know where you are? If not, then it's too late to go back. Hideki and the Chobit, Chii. Welcome to my creation. I am Soulithe's creator but since you are standing in my tower, why don't you just call me The Creator." The figure said. Hideki stood still motionless as he did not know what to do. Chii too felt something holding her back as they stared at the creator.

All they saw was the light of the monitor shining on the left side of his face and the glow of the mainframe behind him. "Chii, I'm so glad you are here. You see, Soulithe has been doing a good job bringing me persocoms for their energy content. However, as of late, it seems that Soulithe has been…slowing down. In the past three days, he has done very little to actually bring you here. He seems to enjoy torturing Hideki more. While that is all well and good, he's swaying from his original mission that I programmed into him." The creator said.

"Why did you create Soulithe and why has he been coming to Chii so much!" Hideki managed to say. "Ahh Hideki, I can answer that for you. You see, I created Soulithe two weeks ago and he has been draining the energy of many persocoms in Japan. These past few days, I was finally able to track Chii down so I upgraded his abilities as a near-Chobit to be able to change the weather.

Chobits are already very powerful creatures and my theory of a persocom emulating one has proven flawless so far. This was something I should have done much sooner, he made it so hot that almost all persocoms ceased to function. You and Chii managed to escape so I sent Soulithe down to Osaka to track you down.

Several times Chii stopped moving but you…you were determined to keep Chii alive. That morning that he drained the energy from Chii, I was smiling ear to ear over here on the computer. I looked at the data of Chii and realized the great potential she possessed. You see Hideki. I made Soulithe for one purpose. That is to make him perfect and to have the ability for a persocom to be a Chobit. My theory is almost true. Now that Chii is here. It will now be complete. Now is your chance…Soulithe." The creator said while looking at the entrance.

There stood Soulithe walking in from the entrance behind him. "You are very bold Hideki, coming out here in the middle of the night. You even brought along Chii to join in on the action." Soulithe said with a smirk. "Yes indeed Soulithe but I'm afraid I don't need you right now. I can take care of Chii right here, right now." The creator said. Soulithe stood there with a blank expression on his face as he watched the creator take out a device and pointed it at Chii. "You see Hideki; you just did Soulithe's work for me. YOU brought Chii HERE. I'm going to have to patch Soulithe some more in order to fix that little error. He's already suffered one error and this makes it two. Hold still Chii, this won't hurt one bit." The creator said as he went to the mainframe and turned on several switches.

"I will not let you do this to Chii!" Hideki yelled to the creator. He held Chii tightly as they braced for the impact that this device was about to deal. Soulithe looked at Hideki and Chii and saw them holding each other. All along it seems like that was all they were doing, not letting each other go. Soulithe then gave a smirk. "You know what, you are right. This won't hurt a bit." Soulithe said as he raised arm out and gathered energy. "I'm glad you agree Soulithe because after this you…" the creator said in mid-sentence as he looked at Soulithe. Soulithe had his arm facing the creator and the green energy blast shot out so fast before the creator could do anything. Soulithe…killed his own creator.

"I hope that didn't hurt at all…creator." Soulithe said as he went behind the desk and began typing on the keyboard. Hideki and Chii looked at him and Hideki had a confused look on his face. He could not understand what had just happened. Seconds later, beeping sounds were heard from the monitor and the mainframe. Soulithe closed his eyes and electronic sounds were coming from him as well. Several things powered down and the mainframe light flashed as overhead lights turned on in the room. The room was bright with light and lights from within the whole tower turned on as well. Hideki and Chii looked around and saw they were in a big laboratory.

"Soulithe…I don't know what is going on. Why did you just kill your own creator?" Hideki asked. "If you have the time, I can tell you everything." Soulithe said with concern. Hideki and Chii took notice that Soulithe's voice sounded different. It wasn't low and evil-like, now it sounded normal. "Please tell me, I really want to know." Hideki said.

"First let me tell you what I did at the computer. I disabled and terminated the programs that were installed in me. Your friend Minoru, like I said, was half right about my programming. The other half was that there was another program installed me that he didn't know about. My creator installed a tracking program in me so that every action I do is sent back to his computer so he knows where I am and what I am doing. This program was installed in me because several days ago before I met you, I had an error in my Chobit emulation program that caused me to revert to my original programming. I was not this evil Soulithe you know me of now, before then I was a regular persocom and I even had another owner. That owner got a new persocom and didn't want me anymore so I was shut off. The creator found me lying in a garbage pile and decided to re-create me. This is at least…what the creator told me. I couldn't remember anything after I had been shut off.

The tracking program was designed so that I wouldn't go back to my original programming. During that short error, I knew there was something wrong with my programs as I was re-programmed to do my creator's bidding. So before he patched the program of that error, I was able to store my memory into my ROM so even he can't get to it. According to him, I was reformatted for extra protection so that I never go back to my original self. He was wrong for the reformat never touched my ROM.

He wanted the energy from the persocoms so that he could control the world with one supreme persocom, me. To perfect his experiment, he needed the energy of a Chobit like Chii. Knowing full well that Chobits were legendary, he knew of Chii in the area. This is why for the past few days; I have been doing acts that weren't not in my original data to do so. Everything I've done was programmed for me to do by the creator. The creator did not have the technology to create Chobits, so his strong theory was to do it in an emulation program. He spent years perfecting this program and I guess he chose me to be the test subject." Soulithe explained

"So, what about throwing Chitose off the balcony? Was that you or was that your creator?" Hideki asked with a stern look. "The initialization of the act was done by the creator. However, a part me knew I was doing wrong but the programming almost completely took over my thoughts. I didn't throw Chitose very high; I was able to control some of my actions by throwing her in such a way that she would not be injured. I assure you that Chitose is not dead." Soulithe explained.

"If you were in control then why did you proceed with throwing Chitose?" Hideki asked. "Because if I did anything against my creator's programming on purpose, he would shut me down and activate the destruct program that was also inside me. I'm telling all this to you two now because really, I was quite interested in learning more about other persocoms. You two seem to have a great relationship together that every time I saw you hugging and holding each other, a part of me didn't want to harm you. So yes, a part of me had to keep going because I didn't want to die by my creator. I hope to find a relationship like you two have." Soulithe said.

Chii looked at Soulithe while he was looking at the ground. She felt something about him that she could relate to. "Soulithe wants to find the one just for him?" Chii said. Soulithe looked up at Chii and stared at her. "Yes…yes I do. But how can I now? So much has changed within me that I don't think I would allow myself to live like this. I've already caused so much pain to you guys. I can't forgive myself even if it wasn't "me" doing it." Soulithe said in shame.

"Well…it would take me a long time but I could forgive you." Hideki said. "Thanks Hideki…but I won't be able to forgive myself. Hideki, I don't want you to forget this though. You are the hero here, not me. You stuck with Chii the whole time and you were there for your friends. The biggest thing of all is you stood up against me, even though I was programmed very powerful. Something inside you made you fearless when you fought to protect your Chii. Coming all the way here with Chii was a big event all by itself. You have done so much than you two realize. Always being with the one you love is always the greatest thing you can do Hideki. Supporting Chii…that and many other qualities makes you a hero." Soulithe said with a good smile.

"Chii!" she said while looking at Hideki. "Soulithe is correct. Hideki supported Chii when Chii was nervous inside. For that, Chii loves Hideki." Chii said while she hugged Hideki. "Aww see; you two are perfect together. I wish my creator would have thought of the goods of a persocom and a human together. There is a lot that humans don't know about persocoms and a lot of us won't tell." Soulithe said. Hideki held Chii tightly when she said she loved Hideki. "Well you two, good luck. I hope you two stay together no matter what. I am going to do something that I should have done before my creator came and re-programmed me." Soulithe said as he walked up to one of the chambers on the wall.

"What are you doing?" Hideki asked. "Push that yellow switch there Hideki. This will drain all the energy out of me and I will…disappear if you will." Soulithe said. "No I'm not doing that!" Hideki said with a change of heart. "Come on Hideki; look at all I've done to you. This is your big chance to defeat me like you've wanted all along. It's what I want to so you win either way. Press the switch Hideki." Soulithe requested as he closed his eyes ready to depart.

"A friend told me that fighting isn't always the best answer. Think about other solutions rather than using your fists." Hideki said out loud. Chii walked up to Hideki and held his hand after remembering that that's what Minoru said to Hideki before he left the apartments. "Wise words Hideki, but you didn't come in here throwing fists. It was all good timing because if you and Chii hadn't come here; I wouldn't have had the opportunity to finally get even with my creator. I'm glad you've had a change of heart, but this wouldn't be just for you. What if I get re-programmed again? Any other corrupt persocom programmer would want me as a used experiment and I'd rather be disabled permanently than to be a servant of someone of the wrong hands." Soulithe said to Hideki. Hideki thought about what he said and agreed.

"If this is what you want Soulithe…then I won't refuse your wish. Thank you for telling me everything about yourself and the creator. I wish I didn't have to do this though." Hideki said before pressing the switch. "I know Hideki, but I want this so everyone can be safe. I don't want to have to attack you again because some dumb corrupt programmer made me to right?" Soulithe said jokingly. "I guess not. Well ok then Soulithe. Nice knowing you. Good-bye." Hideki said almost shedding a tear in his eye while he pressed the switch.

The switch activated the chamber and yellow light shone from the bottom of the chamber and Soulithe began to glow. Hideki and Chii watched as they saw Soulithe slowly dematerialize starting at the feet. Chii was sad to see Soulithe go after he had explained himself. Chii jumped on a desk nearby the chamber and quickly grabbed Soulithe's top hat. She got down from the desk and stood next to Hideki as they watched Soulithe. "Hey…that's my hat. Ahh you can keep it. I wasn't much of a hat person anyway. Again…it's the stupid creator's fault. He even has a bad fashion sense." Soulithe said jokingly. Hideki and Chii smiled at Soulithe.

"Don't be so down you two. Cheer up, you guys are the heroes. Well…one hero and one heroine to be technical. Oh before this process finishes, I have to tell you quickly. Activating these chambers requires a tremendous amount of energy, so that giant orb of energy at the top of this tower will fade as it is being used to dematerialize me. You two must get out of here before this place collapses." Soulithe says in a hurry. Soulithe's upper chest and head were left and parts of the tower were beginning to come down.

"Come on Chii, let's get out of here!" Hideki said as he noticed that this room was beginning the collapsing process. Chii runs with Hideki back to the entrance they came out of earlier. Hideki and Chii waved to Soulithe as they left the room. "You guys…I can't wave back…my arms are gone." Soulithe said jokingly. He then closed his eyes as he felt the dematerializing process was soon about to finish.

Hideki and Chii ran as fast as they could through all the exits before it was too late. With all the lights on, it made it much easier to see where they were going. The tower collapsing quickly became more violent as the process was almost over. The front doors were closing in and Hideki jumps through an opening just in time before the front doors were completely sealed in. Hideki looked around for Chii but didn't see her. "CHII! CHII WHERE ARE YOU!" Hideki yelled. He feared that Chii didn't make it out with him on time.

"Chii!" she said from above. Hideki looked up and saw Chii flying near Hideki. "Chii don't scare me like that!" Hideki said in a fluster. Chii grabbed onto Hideki and lifted him up so he could fly with Chii. The island shook violently as the giant tower fell into pieces. Most of it landed in the ocean while strands of green energy fly from the cracks of the tower remains. Chii and Hideki watch from above the entire tower in pieces and saw no signs of life. Chii was still sad to see Soulithe leave. "Soulithe was trying to be good despite his programming. That's why he never made a real attempt to capture you Chii. He could have very easily done so yesterday while I was in school. It is all making sense now." Hideki said out loud as he thought about everything that has happened in the past few days.

"Let's go home Chii!" Hideki said with a smile. "Chii!" she answered as she held Hideki tight and flew back to Japan. Chii and Hideki flew over a now well lit ocean as the sun began to rise behind them. They turned around and saw the sun peaking above the horizon leaving a streak of orange across the ocean. The skies were bright orange and the clouds were golden yellow as the night had disappeared and morning was literally just over the horizon. Hideki and Chii smiled as they flew back to Japan.

"Hey Chii, make me fly. I've always wanted to do it." Hideki requested. Chii held onto Hideki and gave him the ability to temporarily sprout out wings of energy to support is weight. "WOAH…this…is different" Hideki said while trying to get his balance. Hideki eventually got the hang of flying and he flew on his own while they were nearing Japan. "Chii!" she said enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through her hair.

While Hideki was flying, he felt his cell phone vibrate. He picks it up and checks to see who it is.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Hideki, its Shinbo"_

"Ah really? I've heard that before…" Hideki said jokingly

"_No, it's really me Hideki. Hey sorry for calling you so early like this but I have something I want to tell you!"_

"Well, what is it?"

"_I got the word from the doctors at the Moroshu Hospital and Chitose is fine. She doesn't have any broken bones and all she has is a few small bruises that will heal quickly."_

_So Soulithe was telling the truth. There was good in him all along. He was having a mental battle of good vs bad in his mind. Soulithe, I forgive you._

"_Hideki? Are you there? Where are you?"_

"Oh, I'm here. Guess my head is in the clouds again" Hideki said jokingly as several clouds passed by his head

"_I guess so, anyway sorry to wake you up but I thought you'd like to hear good news."_

"Well Shinbo, I've been awake and I have even more good news to tell you once I get back to Japan."

"_You're not in Japan? Well where are you?"_

"Oh…I'm up in the sky with Chii. We just passed over the shores of Japan and we are heading back home."

"_You are flying with Chii! I don't believe you!"_

"No? Well come on out and stand in the center area and you'll see us come in for a landing. See ya very soon" Hangs up

"Won't Shinbo be in for a surprise! Hey Chii, look down there!" Hideki pointed out. Below was the usual pace of Japan. People, cars, and trains running and of course, a lot persocoms could be seen with their owners. They appeared to be operational and alive. The destruction of the tower must have returned the energy lost to their original persocoms. "Looks like Japan is back to normal and feel that? Normal Japan temperatures! Whoo-hoo!" Hideki said with excitement. Chii smiled as she saw everything back to normal in her eyes as well.

"Hideki?" Chii asked. "Hmm? What is it Chii?" Hideki replied. "That book Chii read. The manga "_Love in High Places_". Chii read the whole book." Chii said. "Wow that's great for you Chii, I'm proud of you! Maybe I'll get you another book later today." Hideki said proudly. "Hideki. Chii liked the ending of the manga. The angel and the human fell in love and the last picture showed the two doing this." Chii said while flying over to Hideki. Chii held onto Hideki and kissed him on the lips while flying through the air. Chii acted out the romantic idea she got from the manga and Hideki loved it.

"Ah Chii, you learn a lot from books don't you?" Hideki said teasingly. Hideki and Chii held hands as they lowered down to the ground for they were in sight of the apartments. They saw Shinbo standing there with Sumomo in his hand looking up at the sky. Hideki and Chii waved at Shinbo as he stood there in surprise to see Hideki flying. "How can you fly like that!" Shinbo yelled out. Hideki and Chii then came in near Shinbo and landed.

"Persocoms are interesting creations aren't they?" Hideki said for an answer to Shinbo as he walked by him. Chii followed Hideki and walked past Shinbo was a smile on her face. "Ah hey, can you have Chii teach me to fly!" Shinbo said in excitement. "Not now, its morning and Chii and I are tired. We are going to bed Shinbo." Hideki said while yawning. "Where did you two go and why are you dressed in all black? You look like you just robbed a store and Chii was the getaway…err…"flier". She's wearing a headband too." Shinbo pointed out. "Let's just say that we don't need to worry about Soulithe anymore. I beat Soulithe!" Hideki said as he tried to flex his muscles. Chii gave Hideki a sour look and stepped on his foot. "Gahh! That hurts!" Hideki yelled while hoping on one foot. Shinbo and Chii laugh.

"Ahh…honestly though, I'll tell you later. I think Chii was able to record all the events that happened as well. Some persocoms can do that so they double as a video camera. I really am tired though." Hideki replied. "Ok, I'll let you go this time. But you must tell me later today!" Shinbo said. "No problem, see ya later!" Hideki said while waving goodbye to Shinbo.

Hideki and Chii went inside and Hideki began to throw his clothes on the ground so he could change into his pajamas. Chii did the same but slipped into something more…comfortable and got in the bed first. Hideki finished buttoning up and he turns around to Chii. "Is something wrong Chii? You are covering yourself with the sheets." Hideki said. "Chii…" she said while dropping the sheets around her to reveal the lingerie she was wearing. She closed her eyes and smiled and said "Sexy!" "It sure is! Did you get that…never mind the questions!" Hideki said quickly while crawling into bed.

Hideki and Chii snuggle together in the bed and get comfortable. Chii unbuttons the top four buttons from Hideki's shirt and moves her body close so her breasts push up against his chest. Hideki's eyes grew small as he was not expecting that. "I…really like to know where you learned that Chii!" Hideki said in a choked up voice. "Hideki's yummies!" Chii replied. "I…see" Hideki said while blushing. The two hold each other and Hideki kisses Chii on the forehead. Hideki then notices that Chii still had on the black headband. Hideki giggled then held Chii tight and dozed off to sleep. As they slept, the view Hideki's room stayed pretty much the same. Only Chii threw the top hat of Soulithe on top of the dresser so she had something to remember him by.

Hideki and Chii were the heroes and everyone played a role that collectively helped Hideki build up a character he unearthed. Hideki was definitely stronger than he was before and this was a trait he'd keep with him forever. His love for Chii was certainly stronger as well. The mark of a hero and the companion of a loving persocom proved to be a perfect duo.

◊◊◊◊◊◊ _The End_** ◊◊****◊◊****◊◊**


	13. Author's Note

◊◊ **Author's note – Thank you ◊◊**

I would like to thank anyone that took the time to read this story all the way to the end. This was my first COMPLETE fan-fiction story I have ever done and as I type this, it is 7:30AM and I finished the last chapter of this story! Please, don't be shy leave me comments, reviews, anything is fine. As this is my first work, yes there will be a few grammar errors and maybe a few typos but I did the best of my knowledge to get fix of them. If you can look beyond that, I hope you can enjoy a story that I spent a lot of time developing.

This was indeed fun to do and it was great. Now to work on my Kingdom Hearts story whenever I get the chance. Next time I start a fan-fic, I will try not to leave you guys in the dust with updates every month; I will shoot for updates at LEAST once a week so you guys don't give up on me. Again, thank you to anyone who leaves a review.


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